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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. scale — size or range
  3. net — in sport
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. net — for catching
  10. cap — of ice
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. scale — in music
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. net — after costs
  18. wave — with your hand

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