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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: rush · bay · arm · bore · scale · cold · last · cell

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. last — final
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bore — to drill
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. last — finally
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. last — to go on

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