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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. ground — crushed
  3. land — to come down
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. scale — size or range
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hand — help
  11. scale — in music
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. hand — in cards
  15. land — ground
  16. ground — the earth
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. ground — a position
  19. prune — to trim
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. land — a country
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — clever

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