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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pop — soda
  3. scale — in music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. object — to protest
  7. file — a line of people
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. object — a thing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pop — music
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. snap — to click
  15. file — a tool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. drill — a practice
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. file — a document
  22. object — an aim
  23. cold — an illness
  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