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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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. lean — to rest against
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. lean — to bend
  5. capital — money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. season — of the year
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. can — a tin
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. chip — to eat
  22. lean — thin
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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