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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. spell — letters
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. file — a document
  5. spring — the season
  6. net — after costs
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. spring — of water
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. spell — magic
  13. file — a tool
  14. net — in sport
  15. spring — a coil
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — for catching
  23. spell — a short time
  24. file — a line of people

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