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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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Word bank
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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: patient · scale · track · sharp · squash · bear · fine · bat

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. squash — the sport
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. fine — high quality
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. scale — in music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fine — all right
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bear — the animal
  24. track — a path

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