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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. prune — to trim
  5. scale — in music
  6. club — for golf
  7. club — a group
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. field — for sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cell — in biology
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — farmland
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — a phone

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