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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — ground
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. file — a line of people
  7. snap — to click
  8. season — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. swing — to play on
  11. land — a country
  12. file — a tool
  13. land — to come down
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. swing — music
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. file — a document
  24. season — of the year

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