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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fine — all right
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. stock — goods
  5. rock — music
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. fine — high quality
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. game — a match
  11. scale — in music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. ball — a dance
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stock — shares
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chair — a leader
  24. scale — for weighing

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