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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. scale — size or range
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. last — to go on
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. scale — in music
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. last — final
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — clever
  23. last — finally
  24. bowl — a football final

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