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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: season · swing · sharp · patient · press · spring · craft · firm

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. press — to push
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. swing — in golf
  5. press — a publisher
  6. craft — boats
  7. firm — steady
  8. season — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. swing — music
  13. firm — a company
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. firm — decided
  17. spring — a coil
  18. season — of the year
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. spring — of water
  21. press — newspapers
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — the season
  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