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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: court · file · rush · net · bass · drill · scale · wake

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. file — a document
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. net — after costs
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rush — hurry
  8. net — for catching
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bass — the fish
  11. court — for sport
  12. bass — low music
  13. net — in sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. court — of a king
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. drill — army training
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. scale — in music
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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