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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: bay · lie · scale · cold · lean · rush · pitch · wave

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. scale — in music
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. rush — hurry
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lean — thin
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pitch — completely
  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