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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. fine — all right
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. scale — size or range
  9. season — of the year
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fine — high quality
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. lean — thin
  14. wind — moving air
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. season — in sport
  23. chair — a leader
  24. scale — for weighing

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