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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pit — a hole
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. scale — size or range
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. game — wild animals
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. rest — a break
  21. game — a match
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. scale — in music
  24. cold — not warm

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