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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cold — not warm
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cold — an illness
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. date — the fruit
  16. deal — to handle
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. mark — a trace
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. scale — in music
  24. date — on the calendar

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