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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · patient · cell · scale · saw · tear

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. tear — to rip
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rule — a law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rule — government
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. scale — in music
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. cell — in biology
  17. scale — size or range
  18. saw — the tool

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