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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. court — of a king
  4. row — to paddle
  5. kid — child
  6. rock — music
  7. bass — low music
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bass — the fish
  12. court — of law
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. kid — to tease
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. row — a line
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. dip — to sink
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. scale — in music

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