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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.

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: key · bowl · saw · mate · ball · cold · fine · scale

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fine — all right
  6. key — for a lock
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. scale — in music
  16. ball — a dance
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. fine — high quality
  21. ball — a great time
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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