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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. swing — in golf
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cap — a hat
  6. pit — in a race
  7. swing — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — of ice
  10. season — in sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — for sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pit — a hole
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. season — of the year
  21. cap — a lid
  22. field — a subject
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. swing — to play on

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