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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. ground — a position
  4. season — of the year
  5. clip — a video
  6. club — for dancing
  7. season — in sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. ground — crushed
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fine — high quality
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. clip — for paper
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mark — a grade
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. clip — to cut
  20. ground — the earth
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mark — a trace
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. club — a group

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