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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 124 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. fine — all right
  3. spell — letters
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. tube — the underground
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. scale — size or range
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tube — a container
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. scale — in music
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fine — high quality
  24. spell — magic

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