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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pop — to visit
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. craft — a skill
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — to wash
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pop — music
  11. ground — a position
  12. craft — boats
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pop — soda
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ground — the earth
  19. wax — to grow
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. season — in sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. sharp — clever
  24. shower — rain

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