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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. shower — to wash
  4. content — the amount
  5. land — ground
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — of the year
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. march — the month
  13. content — happy
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. shower — rain
  18. march — the month
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. season — in sport
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. march — music

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