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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: drill · chest · scale · wave · fork · toast · sharp · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. drill — army training
  5. fork — in a road
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. scale — in music
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. shower — rain
  13. toast — bread
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. drill — a practice

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