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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. shower — to wash
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. scale — in music
  9. rash — hasty
  10. cold — not warm
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — boats
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. craft — a skill
  20. chair — a leader
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. shower — rain
  23. scale — size or range
  24. dip — to sink

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