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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 116 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. season — in sport
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. land — a country
  7. land — ground
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. land — to come down
  10. bulb — for light
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. season — of the year
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. bulb — for light
  18. swing — music
  19. last — finally
  20. swing — to play on
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. swing — in golf
  24. patient — a sick person

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