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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.

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: club · degree · bass · shower · can · land · scale · cap

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. can — a tin
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bass — the fish
  5. scale — size or range
  6. can — to be able to
  7. degree — from a university
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. degree — an amount
  10. shower — to wash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cap — a lid
  13. land — ground
  14. land — a country
  15. club — for golf
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. scale — in music
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. cap — of ice

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