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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spring — the season
  4. scale — in music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. file — a tool
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. file — a document
  12. degree — from a university
  13. spring — of water
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bass — low music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bass — the fish

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