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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. mark — a trace
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — not warm
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. mark — a grade
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. club — a group
  16. cold — an illness
  17. content — the amount
  18. dip — to sink
  19. cell — in biology
  20. scale — in music
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cell — a phone

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