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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. present — there
  3. clip — a video
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. clip — to cut
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wound — an injury
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. rush — hurry
  11. present — a gift
  12. scale — in music
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mine — for digging
  24. present — the time now

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