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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bass — low music
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — an illness
  5. scale — size or range
  6. staff — employees
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. scale — in music
  10. staff — employees
  11. cue — for pool
  12. staff — a stick
  13. court — of a king
  14. cue — a signal
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. court — for sport
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spell — a short time
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. spell — magic
  21. cold — not warm
  22. spell — letters
  23. bass — the fish
  24. cue — a hint

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