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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 120 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: racket · cold · scale · saw · dip · key · chest · row

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — to paddle
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. scale — in music
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. chest — of your body
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. key — for a lock
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. row — a line
  16. chest — a box
  17. key — in music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cold — not warm
  23. key — the most important part
  24. saw — the tool

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