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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. object — to protest
  4. net — in sport
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. object — an aim
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. season — in sport
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — of the year
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. band — a ring
  15. net — after costs
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. band — a music group
  18. object — a thing
  19. swing — music
  20. net — for catching
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. swing — to play on

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