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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. mug — a face
  4. club — a group
  5. scale — in music
  6. rash — hasty
  7. fork — in a road
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. club — for golf
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. kid — child
  15. rash — a series
  16. bass — the fish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a cup
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bass — low music
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — size or range

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