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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. present — there
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cell — in biology
  7. snap — to click
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. fine — high quality
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. fine — all right
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. cell — a phone
  19. scale — size or range
  20. present — a gift
  21. scale — in music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. present — the time now

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