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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stand — to bear
  4. saw — the tool
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. cold — an illness
  8. current — electric
  9. object — to protest
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. court — of law
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. court — for sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. object — a thing
  20. pass — a permit
  21. court — of a king
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. scale — in music
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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