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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rest — a break
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rest — what's left
  5. scale — in music
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mug — a face
  8. rash — a series
  9. game — a match
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rest — what's left
  15. saw — the tool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rash — hasty
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cold — an illness
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. mug — to rob
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mug — a cup

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