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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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468
Word bank
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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. swing — to play on
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. swing — music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wind — moving air
  19. snap — to click
  20. swing — in golf
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mine — for digging

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