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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: plane · season · patient · wound · mate · temple · row · hand

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. season — of the year
  2. mate — a partner
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — in cards
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mate — to breed
  17. row — a line
  18. mate — a friend
  19. plane — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wound — an injury
  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