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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 120 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: staff · fine · mug · scale · hand · fall · cold · saw

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. staff — employees
  6. hand — help
  7. staff — a stick
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cold — not warm
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fine — all right
  14. fall — the season
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mug — a face
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mug — a cup
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. fine — high quality
  24. mug — to rob

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