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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cell — in biology
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. season — of the year
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cold — not warm
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. pit — a hole
  15. chest — a box
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pit — in a race
  19. rest — a break
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rest — what's left
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. season — in sport
  24. chest — of your body

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