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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: present · patient · scale · drill · wave · land · last · mine

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. drill — army training
  6. last — final
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. land — to come down
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. last — finally
  13. land — ground
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. drill — a practice
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. present — there
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. last — to go on
  20. land — a country
  21. present — the time now
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. drill — the tool
  24. present — a gift

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