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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cold — not warm
  5. scale — in music
  6. fine — all right
  7. suit — in cards
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitch — completely
  12. cold — an illness
  13. suit — clothes
  14. sharp — clever
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. scale — size or range
  22. suit — to fit
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. band — a music group

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