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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. spring — the season
  4. fine — all right
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. cold — an illness
  7. toast — bread
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fine — high quality
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. scale — in music
  24. chest — a box

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