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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. root — of a word
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. band — a music group
  9. cold — an illness
  10. band — a ring
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. root — of a plant
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ground — crushed
  16. scale — size or range
  17. hand — help
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ground — a position
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ground — the earth
  23. root — the cause
  24. temple — a place of worship

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