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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. season — of the year
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — for digging
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — to grow
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. tear — to rip
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. kid — child
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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