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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. season — in sport
  3. track — to keep track
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. sharp — clever
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. scale — size or range
  9. track — a path
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — of the year
  12. scale — in music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. fine — all right
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — soda
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rest — a break
  21. track — a song
  22. cold — an illness
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cold — not warm

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