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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. scale — in music
  6. content — happy
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. content — the amount
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — music
  12. court — for sport
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. court — of law
  15. cold — an illness
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. suit — clothes
  18. suit — in cards
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. suit — to fit
  22. rock — a stone
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. saw — the 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