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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — a group
  3. can — to be able to
  4. cold — an illness
  5. can — a tin
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. rash — hasty
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — for golf
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. saw — the tool
  15. scale — in music
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rash — a series
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. scale — size or range
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. can — a tin
  23. club — for dancing
  24. coach — a trainer

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