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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 120 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. spring — of water
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. net — for catching
  7. spring — the season
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spring — a coil
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. game — a match
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. prune — to trim
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — size or range
  24. game — a kind of play

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