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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. scale — in music
  4. net — after costs
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. saw — the tool
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. saw — the tool
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rock — music
  15. rash — a series
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. season — of the year
  18. rock — a stone
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. season — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rash — hasty
  24. net — in sport

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