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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cold — an illness
  5. clip — for paper
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — of the year
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — a video
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. season — in sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. foot — a measure
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. lie — to recline
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — not warm

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