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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: pound · key · bat · tear · cold · arm · scale · mug

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. key — the most important part
  4. scale — size or range
  5. mug — a face
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pound — a weight
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mug — a cup
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — in music
  21. scale — in music
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mug — to rob
  24. tear — from crying

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