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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. scale — in music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. game — a match
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. clip — a video
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. game — wild animals
  19. clip — to cut
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a music group
  22. season — in sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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