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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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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. track — a song
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. track — a path
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cold — an illness
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. track — to keep track
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — for sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. scale — in music
  18. court — of law

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