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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 116 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: degree · clip · fine · face · pop · lean · scale · patient

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. scale — in music
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. lean — to bend
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. clip — to cut
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. face — to point toward
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pop — to visit
  16. lean — thin
  17. face — to confront
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pop — music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — an amount
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — a video

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