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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. season — in sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. last — final
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. rash — hasty
  9. craft — a skill
  10. perch — the fish
  11. craft — boats
  12. tear — from crying
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. wind — moving air
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — finally
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. last — to go on
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wind — moving air
  24. perch — for a bird

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