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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: pop · chest · bowl · stand · rock · hand · scale · dip

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. hand — help
  3. pop — soda
  4. hand — in cards
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pop — music
  7. scale — in music
  8. chest — a box
  9. stand — to bear
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. rock — a stone
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. scale — size or range

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