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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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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 · chair · bore · stand · saw · squash · sharp · cold

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. 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. sharp — with an edge
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bore — to drill
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bore — to tire
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. cold — not warm
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. scale — in music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stand — to bear
  20. saw — the tool
  21. scale — size or range
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. 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