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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. land — to come down
  6. prune — to trim
  7. land — ground
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. clip — to cut
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mark — a trace
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. rest — what's left
  15. land — a country
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rest — what's left
  18. clip — a video
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. rest — a break
  23. prune — to trim
  24. scale — in music

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