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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. ground — a position
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rock — a stone
  5. scale — in music
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. ground — the earth
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. ground — crushed
  14. sharp — clever
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. scale — size or range
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bulb — for light
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. arm — part of the body

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