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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. track — a song
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. track — a path
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — a subject
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. track — to keep track
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. season — of the year
  23. bat — the animal
  24. hide — to keep secret

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com