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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. net — in sport
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. net — for catching
  5. track — a path
  6. capital — money
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. capital — a city
  10. net — after costs
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cold — an illness
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. season — in sport
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. track — a song
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. season — of the year
  24. patient — a sick person

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