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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. kid — child
  3. saw — the tool
  4. capital — money
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mark — a trace
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chest — a box
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — a city
  24. mark — a grade

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