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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. pass — a permit
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. swing — in golf
  6. scale — in music
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. net — for catching
  10. cold — not warm
  11. net — in sport
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. net — after costs
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wind — moving air
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. swing — 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