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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. club — a group
  3. file — a line of people
  4. land — a country
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a tool
  7. land — to come down
  8. scale — size or range
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. land — ground
  13. scale — in music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. court — of law
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. court — for sport
  18. club — for golf
  19. court — of a king
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. file — a document
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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