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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bass — the fish
  5. scale — in music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — temperature
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. present — the time now
  11. spell — letters
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. degree — an amount
  14. present — a gift
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. spell — magic
  17. swing — music
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bass — low music
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. swing — to play on
  24. scale — size or range

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