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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.

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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 · mate · land · file · spring · pop · hand · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. file — a line of people
  5. scale — size or range
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mate — a friend
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. land — ground
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. spring — of water
  18. mate — a partner
  19. land — to come down
  20. spring — the season
  21. file — a document
  22. hand — help
  23. spring — a coil
  24. file — a 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