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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. key — the most important part
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pop — music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. key — for a lock
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. pop — soda
  10. land — to come down
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. land — a country
  19. key — in music
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cell — in biology
  24. land — ground

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