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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — low music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. scale — in music
  24. lie — to recline

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