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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. chest — of your body
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. scale — in music
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. chest — a box
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. march — the month
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. file — a document
  14. last — to go on
  15. march — music
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. last — finally
  19. march — the month
  20. file — a tool
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — final

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