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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rest — what's left
  4. land — a country
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ground — the earth
  8. scale — size or range
  9. ground — crushed
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — in music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. clip — to cut
  20. land — to come down
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rest — a break
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — a video

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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