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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cap — a lid
  3. scale — in music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. track — a path
  10. march — the month
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. cap — of ice
  21. file — a document
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. march — music
  24. file — a tool

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