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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. scale — in music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. rock — a stone
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. rock — music
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cap — a hat
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. fork — in a road
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. foot — a measure
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cold — an illness

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