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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. season — of the year
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — a position
  8. lie — to recline
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. band — a music group
  12. roll — a list
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. band — a ring
  15. swing — music
  16. ground — crushed
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. swing — in golf
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. ground — the earth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. swing — to play on

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