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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · wind · tear · spell · stand · chest · season · rest

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stand — to bear
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chest — a box
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chest — of your body
  11. season — of the year
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chest — of your body
  17. season — in sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. spell — magic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  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