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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 120 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. season — in sport
  3. rock — music
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. charge — electricity
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chair — a leader
  15. season — of the year
  16. bat — the animal
  17. clip — a video
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. charge — in control
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. charge — a price
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. mine — for digging

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