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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. season — of the year
  5. ground — the earth
  6. field — farmland
  7. spell — magic
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spell — letters
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ground — a position
  13. scale — size or range
  14. snap — to click
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spell — a short time
  18. field — a subject
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. scale — in music
  22. field — for sport
  23. hide — animal skin
  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