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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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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: toast · cold · saw · land · fan · firm · scale · cell

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. firm — decided
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — to come down
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — a country
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cold — an illness
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. scale — in music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cell — a phone
  17. firm — steady
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. firm — a company
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. toast — bread
  23. scale — size or range
  24. land — ground

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