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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: jam · chair · mine · patient · scale · temple · spring · tube

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. scale — in music
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. spring — a coil
  11. scale — size or range
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. tube — a container
  15. spring — of water
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chair — a leader

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