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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: scale · cold · can · arm · fall · bat · ground · fine

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. can — a tin
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fall — the season
  7. ground — crushed
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fine — all right
  10. ground — the earth
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cold — an illness
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — not warm
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fall — to drop
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. can — a tin
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fall — to drop

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