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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. season — in sport
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rest — what's left
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bass — the fish
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. scale — in music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rest — a break
  22. season — of the year
  23. bass — low music
  24. ruler — for measuring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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