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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 120 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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. swing — in golf
  3. shower — rain
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hand — help
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. scale — in music
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. scale — size or range
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. hand — in cards
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wound — an injury
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. shower — to wash
  22. swing — music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bat — the animal

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