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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. track — a song
  3. scale — size or range
  4. roll — a cake
  5. club — for golf
  6. rock — music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. track — a path
  9. roll — a list
  10. foot — a measure
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cell — in biology
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. rock — a stone
  19. shower — rain
  20. club — a group
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. cell — in a prison

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