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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 116 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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. scale — in music
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. plane — a tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wind — moving air
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wind — to turn a key

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