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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rash — hasty
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. board — a committee
  5. net — for catching
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — to get on
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. sharp — clever
  15. scale — in music
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rash — a series
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. net — in sport

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