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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. mate — a partner
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mate — a friend
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. season — of the year
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. field — a subject
  13. mate — to breed
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. lean — to bend
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. nail — on a finger

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