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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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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: march · patient · pound · chair · arm · swing · season · ball

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. season — in sport
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — a weight
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. ball — a great time
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chair — a leader
  14. swing — to play on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. march — the month
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. march — music
  23. swing — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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