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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 120 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. ground — crushed
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ground — a position
  9. bass — low music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — in music
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bat — the animal
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. vault — a safe
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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