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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. season — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bass — low music
  13. spell — a short time
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. last — final
  19. last — to go on
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. last — finally
  22. spell — magic
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. spell — letters

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