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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a music group
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. season — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. vault — a safe
  11. net — for catching
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. root — of a plant
  14. season — of the year
  15. root — the cause
  16. net — after costs
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. band — a ring
  19. root — of a word
  20. net — in sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bat — the animal

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