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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — of the year
  3. suit — in cards
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. roll — a list
  9. suit — to fit
  10. date — the fruit
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. suit — clothes
  17. capital — money
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. season — in sport
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — moving air
  24. roll — a cake

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