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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. ball — a dance
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — an illness
  6. drill — a practice
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. drill — the tool
  12. ball — a great time
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. drill — army training
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pit — a hole

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