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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — crushed
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chest — of your body
  7. clip — a video
  8. march — the month
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. march — the month
  12. ground — the earth
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. march — music
  16. season — of the year
  17. chest — a box
  18. bulb — for light
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. season — in sport
  22. ground — a position
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. clip — for paper

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