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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. file — a tool
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a line of people
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. scale — size or range
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. saw — the tool
  15. sharp — clever
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. hand — help
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. scale — in music
  22. file — a document
  23. hand — in cards
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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