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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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468
Word bank
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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. kid — to tease
  4. scale — size or range
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. cold — not warm
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. net — for catching
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bass — low music
  20. scale — in music
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. kid — child
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pound — a weight

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