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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 124 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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cap — a hat
  3. ball — a dance
  4. scale — in music
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cap — of ice
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. spring — the season
  17. mug — a face
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cap — a lid
  20. present — there
  21. spring — of water
  22. ball — a great time
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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