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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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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. scale — size or range
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. last — finally
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ball — a great time
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bass — low music
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ball — a dance
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — rain
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — final
  22. bass — the fish
  23. band — a music group
  24. scale — in music

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