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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. scale — in music
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. track — to keep track
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. scale — size or range
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. track — a path
  16. file — a document
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cell — in biology
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. track — a song
  24. mouse — the animal

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