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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.

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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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. scale — in music
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bear — the animal
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mine — for digging
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bat — the animal
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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