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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · chest · last · pitcher · fan · scale · mouse · club

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  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. sharp — with an edge
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. club — a group
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. last — final
  7. club — for golf
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. club — for dancing
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. last — to go on
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chest — a box
  22. last — finally
  23. sharp — clever
  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