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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fine — high quality
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. kick — in football
  9. scale — size or range
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — a path
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. fine — all right
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — a song
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. snap — to click

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