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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. drill — a practice
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. shower — to wash
  8. scale — size or range
  9. field — a subject
  10. firm — decided
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. field — farmland
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. field — for sport
  20. firm — a company
  21. drill — army training
  22. firm — steady
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. straw — a straw man

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