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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. season — of the year
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. pop — music
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. file — a document
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. pop — to visit
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. vault — a safe
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a tool
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — soda

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