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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. court — for sport
  3. current — of water
  4. wind — moving air
  5. current — electric
  6. season — in sport
  7. court — of law
  8. cue — for pool
  9. court — of a king
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. branch — a division
  12. cue — a hint
  13. dip — to sink
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. current — happening now
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wind — moving air
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cue — a signal
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. season — of the year

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