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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. game — a match
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — to tease
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — moving air
  9. firm — steady
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mug — to rob
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — in sport
  16. sharp — clever
  17. tear — from crying
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. kid — child
  20. mug — a cup
  21. firm — a company
  22. mug — a face
  23. firm — decided
  24. season — to add flavour

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