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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. land — a country
  3. rock — music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. land — to come down
  6. rock — a stone
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. land — ground
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. scale — in music
  12. content — happy
  13. shower — to wash
  14. foot — a measure
  15. shower — rain
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. plane — a tool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wake — a trail
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. content — the amount
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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