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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. file — a tool
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. file — a document
  7. scale — in music
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cap — of ice
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pound — a weight
  17. scale — size or range
  18. court — for sport
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mine — for digging
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. court — of a king
  24. fine — a penalty

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