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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. scale — in music
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — help
  15. scale — size or range
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. row — to paddle
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. saw — the tool
  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