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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. craft — boats
  6. current — of water
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ground — a position
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bass — low music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bat — the animal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. craft — a skill
  17. scale — in music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. current — electric
  22. chest — a box
  23. current — happening now
  24. ground — crushed

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