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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · craft · pitch · rash · shower · cold · bank · wake

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. craft — a skill
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wake — a trail
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rash — a series
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. scale — in music
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pitch — completely
  18. craft — boats
  19. cold — not warm
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bank — of a river
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. cold — an illness

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