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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fine — high quality
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cold — an illness
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rash — a series
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. fine — all right
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. rash — hasty
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. straw — a straw man

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