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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 116 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. scale — in music
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — temperature
  14. scale — size or range
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mine — for digging
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. hide — animal skin

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