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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cold — an illness
  5. staff — employees
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. spell — letters
  8. net — after costs
  9. staff — a stick
  10. scale — in music
  11. net — for catching
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. band — a ring
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. staff — employees
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. spell — magic
  21. cold — not warm
  22. band — a music group
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. net — in sport

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