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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. land — ground
  3. scale — in music
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fine — all right
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cold — not warm
  12. land — to come down
  13. file — a line of people
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fine — high quality
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. file — a tool
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. file — a document
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. land — a country
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. nail — for a hammer

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