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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a document
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rock — a stone
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a line of people
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. file — a tool
  13. press — a publisher
  14. march — the month
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. row — a line
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. season — in sport
  19. march — music
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. row — to paddle
  22. press — to push
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. press — newspapers

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