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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chest — of your body
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chest — a box
  9. capital — a city
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. swing — in golf
  12. capital — money
  13. swing — music
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chest — of your body
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. snap — to click
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — for digging
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — of the year

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