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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. scale — size or range
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wax — to grow
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. capital — a city
  11. clip — a video
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. clip — for paper
  14. scale — in music
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. capital — money
  17. pit — in a race
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rock — music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pit — a hole
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. rock — a stone

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