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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fine — all right
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bass — the fish
  6. court — of law
  7. bound — obliged
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fine — high quality
  10. file — a line of people
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bass — low music
  13. file — a document
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — of a king
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. court — for sport
  18. shower — to wash
  19. file — a tool
  20. bound — certain
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bound — tied together
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. row — a line

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