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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. content — happy
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mug — a cup
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. capital — a city
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. chair — a leader
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. scale — size or range
  20. capital — money
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. content — the amount
  23. band — a ring
  24. capital — a big letter

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