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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 124 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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. scale — size or range
  3. content — happy
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. current — of water
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rest — a break
  8. cold — an illness
  9. current — happening now
  10. scale — in music
  11. current — electric
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. march — the month
  14. rest — what's left
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pass — a permit
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. content — the amount
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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