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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. season — of the year
  4. last — final
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bass — the fish
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. drill — the tool
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. last — finally
  12. drill — army training
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. perch — the fish
  16. game — wild animals
  17. drill — a practice
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. season — in sport
  20. bass — low music
  21. last — to go on
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. game — a match

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