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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: arm · scale · fall · bass · field · shower · march · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fall — the season
  5. sharp — clever
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. field — farmland
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. march — music
  11. bass — low music
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bass — the fish
  14. scale — in music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. march — the month
  18. field — a subject
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. field — for sport
  24. march — the month

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