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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. scale — size or range
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. chip — for betting
  9. march — the month
  10. degree — an amount
  11. content — the amount
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wound — an injury
  17. scale — in music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. march — music
  20. content — happy
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. chip — to eat
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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