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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. net — after costs
  6. saw — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. net — in sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rest — what's left
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. drill — the tool
  18. rest — a break
  19. saw — the tool
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. drill — army training
  22. season — of the year
  23. net — for catching
  24. rest — what's left

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