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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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 — size or range
  2. hand — in cards
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. hand — help
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. file — a tool
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a document
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. file — a line of people
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bass — low music
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. scale — in music
  24. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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