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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cold — not warm
  7. clip — a video
  8. bass — low music
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. hand — help
  12. wake — a trail
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. clip — for paper
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bowl — a football final

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