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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. scale — in music
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bass — low music
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bass — the fish
  10. rash — a series
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cue — for pool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fine — all right
  21. net — after costs
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. net — in sport
  24. cold — not warm

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