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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 120 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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. sharp — clever
  4. press — newspapers
  5. ball — a great time
  6. track — to keep track
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. track — a song
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. press — to push
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — the animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ball — a dance
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. track — a path
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. season — to add flavour

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