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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. file — a line of people
  3. scale — in music
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — of water
  7. perch — the fish
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. spring — the season
  11. tube — the underground
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. cell — a phone
  14. file — a tool
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — a coil
  18. tube — a container
  19. cell — in biology
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. file — a document
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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