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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. kick — in football
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. wind — moving air
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. season — of the year
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — the tool
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. cap — a hat
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. season — in sport

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