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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. scale — size or range
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cell — in biology
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. staff — employees
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. scale — in music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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