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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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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: scale · sharp · cold · pass · cell · land · saw · rash

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — size or range
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — a country
  7. pass — a permit
  8. land — ground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rash — hasty
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. land — to come down
  18. rash — a series
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. scale — in music
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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