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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: rock · net · fan · cold · scale · date · racket · saw

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. scale — size or range
  4. net — in sport
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. date — the fruit
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rock — music
  19. net — after costs
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. saw — the tool
  22. net — for catching
  23. rock — a stone
  24. saw — the tool

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