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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: cold · bowl · firm · hide · last · scale · game · tube

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. firm — steady
  5. last — finally
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cold — not warm
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a match
  13. cold — an illness
  14. firm — decided
  15. tube — the underground
  16. last — final
  17. firm — a company
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. scale — in music
  20. tube — a container
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. tube — in a tire

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