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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cold — not warm
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — in music
  9. club — a group
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. club — for golf
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. key — the most important part
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. scale — size or range

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