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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. firm — a company
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. key — the most important part
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. spring — a coil
  10. season — of the year
  11. spring — of water
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kick — in football
  14. spring — the season
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. firm — steady
  18. key — in music
  19. firm — decided
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. key — for a lock
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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