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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. game — a match
  4. cue — for pool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. field — farmland
  12. scale — size or range
  13. field — for sport
  14. cold — an illness
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. cue — a signal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. field — a subject
  22. rock — music
  23. cue — a hint
  24. clip — a video

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