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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 120 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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 — for weighing
  2. bank — for money
  3. scale — in music
  4. face — to confront
  5. cold — an illness
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bank — of a river
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. season — in sport
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. season — of the year
  21. cold — not warm
  22. face — part of the head
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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