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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. scale — in music
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stand — to bear
  7. pitch — completely
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. key — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — happy
  16. key — the most important part
  17. content — the amount
  18. key — for a lock
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cold — not warm
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pitch — a sports field

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