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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rush — hurry
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. scale — in music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rest — a break
  13. wax — to grow
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stand — to bear
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rush — to hurry

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