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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 124 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. scale — in music
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — to rip
  8. land — a country
  9. tear — from crying
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. staff — employees
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. land — to come down
  17. season — of the year
  18. scale — size or range
  19. tear — from crying
  20. staff — a stick
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — ground
  23. cold — not warm
  24. deal — to handle

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