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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. rash — a series
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. spring — of water
  10. cold — an illness
  11. perch — the fish
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. track — to keep track
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. track — a path
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. track — a song

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