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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: deal · wound · face · clip · patient · season · scale · present

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. scale — in music
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. season — of the year
  12. clip — a video
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. deal — to handle
  15. scale — size or range
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. face — to point toward
  19. present — the time now
  20. face — part of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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