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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. drill — the tool
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. drill — a practice
  5. saw — the tool
  6. charge — electricity
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. charge — in control
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. drill — army training
  18. charge — a price

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