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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. press — to push
  4. net — for catching
  5. scale — in music
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitch — completely
  9. key — in music
  10. deal — to handle
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. craft — a skill
  16. key — for a lock
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cold — not warm
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — size or range
  22. press — a publisher
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. key — the most important part

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