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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. scale — in music
  3. content — the amount
  4. land — ground
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. land — to come down
  7. hand — help
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — happy
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. scale — size or range
  17. land — a country
  18. hand — in cards

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