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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. sharp — clever
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pit — in a race
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pit — a hole
  9. scale — in music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rock — music
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. mine — for digging
  20. scale — size or range
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. mine — belonging to me

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