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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: rock · deal · stick · kid · march · cue · sharp · scale

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. cue — a hint
  6. sharp — clever
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. scale — size or range
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kid — child
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. march — the month
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. scale — in music
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. scale — for weighing

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