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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. season — in sport
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. capital — a city
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. scale — in music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. root — of a word
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. scale — size or range
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. season — of the year
  24. capital — money

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