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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. last — finally
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. ground — crushed
  6. last — final
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. content — happy
  10. ground — a position
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. scale — size or range
  13. roll — a list
  14. scale — in music
  15. content — the amount
  16. bat — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. roll — a cake
  22. swing — to play on
  23. last — to go on
  24. ground — the earth

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