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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fall — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. season — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a grade
  12. content — happy
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mark — a trace
  15. lean — thin
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rule — government
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. fall — to drop
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. lean — to bend
  24. content — the amount

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