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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: patient · fall · swing · net · ball · ground · season · lie

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. ground — a position
  3. swing — to play on
  4. ball — a great time
  5. season — in sport
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. swing — in golf
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. fall — the season
  15. ball — a dance
  16. net — after costs
  17. season — of the year
  18. ground — crushed
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. fall — to drop

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