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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. tear — from crying
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. craft — boats
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. season — of the year
  14. present — the time now
  15. tear — from crying
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. present — a gift
  18. present — there
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tear — to rip
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. saw — the tool

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