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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bat — the animal
  3. lean — thin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bass — low music
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bass — the fish
  13. can — a tin
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. track — a path
  17. hand — help
  18. can — a tin
  19. lean — to bend
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rush — hurry
  24. track — a song

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