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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. game — a match
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. land — ground
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. land — to come down
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. content — happy
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. content — the amount
  23. land — a country
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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