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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.

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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: stick · hide · scale · patient · rock · bass · court · cell

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rock — music
  3. court — of a king
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. court — of law
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cell — a phone
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bass — the fish
  15. cell — in biology
  16. court — for sport
  17. scale — in music
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. scale — size or range
  23. rock — a stone
  24. cell — in a prison

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