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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. swing — music
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cold — not warm
  12. scale — in music
  13. pass — a permit
  14. swing — to play on
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. perch — the fish
  18. swing — in golf
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. scale — size or range
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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