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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 116 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cap — a hat
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. season — in sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — the month
  11. land — a country
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. season — of the year
  14. present — there
  15. cap — a lid
  16. kid — to tease
  17. present — a gift
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — music
  20. kid — child
  21. pop — to visit
  22. present — the time now
  23. march — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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