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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rush — hurry
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bound — certain
  16. spell — letters
  17. snap — to click
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  24. spell — magic

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