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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. roll — a list
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. roll — a cake
  8. season — of the year
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. row — a line
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. scale — size or range
  15. craft — boats
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wound — an injury
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wound — an injury
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. craft — a skill

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