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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stock — shares
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — a friend
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. scale — in music
  10. stock — goods
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. kick — in football
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — to cut
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mate — to breed
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. game — a kind of play

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