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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. scale — size or range
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. can — a tin
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. can — to be able to
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. can — a tin
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cell — in biology
  22. fine — all right
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. scale — in music

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