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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  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. season — of the year
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. vault — a safe
  4. roll — a cake
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cell — a phone
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. lie — to recline
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spell — a short time
  14. season — in sport
  15. spell — letters
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spell — magic
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. roll — a list
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  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