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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. file — a document
  3. pop — soda
  4. track — a path
  5. capital — a city
  6. track — a song
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. cold — not warm
  10. pop — to visit
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cap — a hat
  13. capital — money
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pop — music
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cap — a lid
  19. file — a tool
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. track — to keep track
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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