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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mug — a face
  3. season — of the year
  4. mug — a cup
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. ground — the earth
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mug — to rob
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. ground — crushed
  14. capital — money
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cold — not warm
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. capital — a city
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — a position
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. can — a tin

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