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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. firm — a company
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. rock — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. firm — steady
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. firm — decided
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — to wash
  16. scale — size or range
  17. rock — a stone
  18. spring — the season
  19. scale — in music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. shower — rain
  23. hand — help
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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