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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · scale · band · cell · rest · cold

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rest — a break
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. scale — in music
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. band — a ring
  15. cell — a phone
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. band — a music group
  18. cold — an illness

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