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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. band — a ring
  4. face — to point toward
  5. hand — help
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. club — for golf
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. mug — a face
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mug — to rob
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. face — to confront
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mug — a cup
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. scale — in music
  20. club — a group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. face — part of the head
  24. hand — in cards

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