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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
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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: stem · court · scale · cold · drill · pitcher · wind · racket

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — of a king
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. court — for sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wind — moving air
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. drill — a practice
  20. court — of law
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. scale — in music
  24. drill — army training

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