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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. swing — to play on
  4. game — a match
  5. hand — in cards
  6. shower — to wash
  7. swing — in golf
  8. chest — of your body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cue — a hint
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. scale — in music
  13. shower — rain
  14. chest — a box
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cue — a signal
  17. swing — music
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cue — for pool
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. hand — help

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