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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · spring · patient · row · mate · jam · wound · season

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — the season
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. wound — an injury
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. spring — a coil
  9. row — to paddle
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. face — part of the head
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — a line
  17. season — of the year
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spring — of water
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. mate — a partner
  24. season — in sport

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