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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. last — to go on
  4. mark — a grade
  5. wind — moving air
  6. scale — in music
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cap — of ice
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. last — finally
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cap — a lid
  20. last — final
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. coach — a trainer

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