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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. scale — in music
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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