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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.

Make a worksheet

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: cold · mark · lie · scale · fork · pitcher · spell · pass

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pass — a permit
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. spell — magic
  6. scale — size or range
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. scale — in music
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fork — in a road
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. spell — letters
  21. mark — a trace
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mark — a grade

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