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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bass — low music
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. last — finally
  5. scale — size or range
  6. row — a line
  7. last — to go on
  8. stock — goods
  9. scale — in music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. last — final
  13. saw — the tool
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stock — shares
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fall — the season
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. fall — to drop
  24. ruler — for measuring

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