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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ground — crushed
  4. lean — to bend
  5. staff — employees
  6. season — in sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. rest — what's left
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. last — finally
  11. last — to go on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fork — in a road
  14. ground — a position
  15. season — of the year
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. lean — thin
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. rest — a break
  21. last — final
  22. staff — employees
  23. ground — the earth
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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