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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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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. scale — in music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. fork — in a road
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cold — not warm
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing

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