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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.

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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. season — in sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. clip — to cut
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. fall — the season
  14. clip — a video
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ground — a position
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — the earth
  22. swing — to play on
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bear — 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