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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. firm — steady
  3. mate — a friend
  4. scale — size or range
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. clip — a video
  7. roll — a list
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. staff — employees
  10. roll — a cake
  11. staff — employees
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. scale — in music
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. mate — to breed
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. firm — decided
  20. mate — a partner
  21. firm — a company
  22. staff — a stick
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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