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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  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 — in music
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spell — letters
  4. can — a tin
  5. spell — magic
  6. scale — size or range
  7. chest — a box
  8. bore — to tire
  9. chest — of your body
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spell — a short time
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bore — to drill
  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