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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. shower — to wash
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. pit — in a race
  9. shower — rain
  10. swing — music
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pit — a hole
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. ball — a dance
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cold — not warm
  21. scale — in music
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. can — a tin
  24. can — to be able to

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