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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cold — an illness
  6. scale — size or range
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pit — a hole
  10. court — of a king
  11. scale — in music
  12. season — in sport
  13. court — for sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. pit — in a race
  23. season — of the year
  24. cold — the Cold War

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