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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. plane — a tool
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rash — a series
  9. stand — to bear
  10. chest — a box
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. scale — in music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. plane — an aircraft

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