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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stock — shares
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. scale — in music
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — an illness
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rest — a break
  13. tube — a container
  14. cue — for pool
  15. scale — size or range
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stock — goods
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cue — a hint
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitcher — a jug

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