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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 120 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: scale · patient · saw · tube · club · fan · row · march

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. club — for golf
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. row — a line
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. scale — size or range
  8. march — the month
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tube — the underground
  12. club — a group
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. march — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — in music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. march — the month
  24. saw — the 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