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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. last — final
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — of the year
  8. date — the fruit
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. track — to keep track
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. last — finally
  13. track — a path
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. rash — a series
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. fine — all right
  20. rash — hasty
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. season — in sport
  23. track — a song
  24. fine — high quality

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