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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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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 · content · sharp · cell · stand · hide · root · cold

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cold — not warm
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. sharp — clever
  7. root — of a plant
  8. content — the amount
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. content — happy
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. scale — size or range
  14. root — of a word
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stand — to bear
  17. root — the cause
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — a phone
  24. scale — in music

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