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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. can — to be able to
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cold — an illness
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — not warm
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. net — for catching
  17. season — of the year
  18. rest — what's left
  19. sharp — clever
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. rest — a break
  24. row — a line

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