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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. pit — a hole
  3. court — of a king
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bass — low music
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. shower — rain
  8. court — for sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bass — the fish
  11. stem — to come from
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. court — of law
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fork — in a road
  21. pit — in a race
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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