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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. season — of the year
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pit — in a race
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rock — music
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. chest — a box
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wake — a trail
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. branch — a division
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pit — a hole
  24. season — 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