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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. last — final
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. season — of the year
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. last — to go on
  8. season — in sport
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bulb — for light
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. last — finally
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. swing — music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. swing — in golf
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. scale — for weighing

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