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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. mug — a cup
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bass — low music
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. spring — of water
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mug — a face
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. band — a music group
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bass — the instrument

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