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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — music
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. content — happy
  10. club — for golf
  11. scale — in music
  12. spring — the season
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rock — a stone
  15. club — a group
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in biology
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. club — for dancing
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — a phone

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