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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. file — a tool
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. drill — a practice
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — an illness
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. file — a line of people
  14. drill — the tool
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. drill — army training
  19. perch — the fish
  20. cold — not warm
  21. file — a document
  22. staff — employees
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. plane — a tool

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