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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: clip · toast · jam · game · wound · deal · cold · scale

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cold — not warm
  5. clip — to cut
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. toast — bread
  9. clip — a video
  10. wound — an injury
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. game — a match
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. deal — to handle
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. game — wild animals
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. clip — for paper

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