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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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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 · fine · cold · deal · bay · wound · last · scale

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. last — finally
  10. cold — not warm
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. deal — to handle
  16. scale — in music
  17. fine — all right
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. deal — an agreement

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