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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. spell — letters
  3. bound — obliged
  4. face — part of the head
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bound — tied together
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bound — certain
  11. spell — magic
  12. tube — the underground
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. scale — size or range
  19. face — to confront
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. spell — a short time
  22. stock — goods
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. scale — in music

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