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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. scale — size or range
  3. shower — to wash
  4. staff — employees
  5. lean — to bend
  6. court — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. scale — in music
  9. staff — employees
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. capital — a city
  15. bass — low music
  16. court — of a king
  17. current — of water
  18. bass — the fish
  19. current — electric
  20. court — of law
  21. current — happening now
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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