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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 116 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. file — a tool
  8. content — the amount
  9. file — a document
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. content — happy
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bass — low music
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wax — to grow
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. shower — to wash
  21. scale — in music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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