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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bore — to drill
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spring — the season
  11. pitch — completely
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. spring — a coil
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bore — to tire
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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