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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mate — a friend
  3. scale — in music
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cold — not warm
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. scale — size or range
  14. prune — to trim
  15. snap — to click
  16. cold — an illness
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mate — a partner
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mate — to breed
  24. drill — army training

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