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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. season — of the year
  5. court — for sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cell — a phone
  10. ball — a great time
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. court — of law
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. cell — in biology
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. ball — a dance
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — from a university
  23. court — of a king
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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