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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. chest — a box
  3. content — happy
  4. prune — to trim
  5. shower — to wash
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. chest — of your body
  8. current — of water
  9. spell — magic
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. shower — rain
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. content — the amount
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — a short time
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. spell — letters
  22. drill — army training
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. prune — to trim

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