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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. track — to keep track
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cue — a hint
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cue — for pool
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. track — a song
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. cue — a signal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. track — a path
  24. scale — in music

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