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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — money
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. field — a subject
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. field — farmland
  12. file — a tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. scale — size or range
  15. cold — an illness
  16. file — a document
  17. field — for sport
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. capital — a city
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. toast — bread
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. foot — a measure

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