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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. scale — in music
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. scale — size or range
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. kid — child
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. net — in sport
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. sharp — clever
  24. ruler — for measuring

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