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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — to rip
  12. ball — a great time
  13. scale — size or range
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. ball — a dance
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — help
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fork — a garden tool

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