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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. scale — size or range
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. saw — the tool
  5. game — wild animals
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. game — a match
  10. lean — to bend
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. firm — steady
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. scale — in music
  17. firm — a company
  18. shower — rain
  19. saw — the tool
  20. season — in sport
  21. lean — thin
  22. firm — decided
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. scale — for weighing

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