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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. shower — to wash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fine — all right
  5. ball — a dance
  6. shower — rain
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chest — of your body
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chest — a box
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. chest — of your body
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fine — high quality
  24. coach — a trainer

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