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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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468
Word bank
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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. scale — in music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. game — a match
  5. fall — the season
  6. fine — all right
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fine — high quality
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. saw — the tool
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cold — an illness
  14. swing — music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. swing — to play on
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. swing — in golf
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cell — a phone
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — wild animals

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