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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. pop — to visit
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. shower — rain
  9. pop — soda
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. saw — the tool
  12. scale — in music
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. pop — music
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bowl — a dish

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