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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. land — ground
  2. season — of the year
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. land — to come down
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. prune — to trim
  11. march — music
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. march — the month
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. season — in sport
  18. land — a country
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. march — the month
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. patient — a sick person
  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