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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fine — high quality
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a ring
  8. hand — help
  9. net — in sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. net — after costs
  13. degree — an amount
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fine — all right
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. degree — from a university
  18. net — for catching
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. degree — temperature
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. scale — in music
  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