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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. spring — of water
  3. drill — army training
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bass — the fish
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. scale — in music
  9. cell — a phone
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — rain
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spring — a coil
  15. swing — music
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — to wash
  18. drill — the tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bass — low music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. swing — in golf
  23. spring — the season
  24. bass — the instrument

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