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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. march — the month
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. deal — to handle
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. foot — a measure
  10. march — music
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. file — a tool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. file — a document
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a line of people
  24. deal — a big deal

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