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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. dip — to sink
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. chest — of your body
  12. scale — size or range
  13. perch — the fish
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. last — to go on
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. chest — a box
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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