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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. date — the fruit
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. march — the month
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. scale — size or range
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. march — the month
  10. hand — help
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. scale — in music
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. hand — in cards
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. march — music
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a dance
  24. scale — for weighing

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