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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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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — a thing
  4. land — to come down
  5. firm — a company
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. land — a country
  8. pitch — completely
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. clip — a video
  12. firm — decided
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. object — an aim
  16. firm — steady
  17. prune — to trim
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. prune — to trim
  20. land — ground
  21. scale — size or range
  22. clip — to cut
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. scale — in music

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