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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — in sport
  4. scale — in music
  5. row — a line
  6. drill — a practice
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. row — to paddle
  11. court — of law
  12. pass — a permit
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. court — of a king
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — for sport
  20. season — of the year
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pass — to succeed

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