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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 116 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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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: cell · fork · bear · cue · cold · ball · scale · file

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. cell — in biology
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bear — the animal
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cue — a signal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cold — not warm
  14. file — a document
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cue — for pool
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. file — a line of people

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