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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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 — of the year
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. spell — a short time
  9. rest — what's left
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. file — a document
  16. spell — letters
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. ball — a great time
  20. season — in sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. perch — the fish
  23. ball — a dance
  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