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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 120 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: pitcher · shower · scale · mark · chest · mine · land · rule

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rule — a law
  4. shower — rain
  5. land — to come down
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. scale — in music
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. land — ground
  12. chest — a box
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. land — a country
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rule — government
  19. shower — to wash
  20. scale — size or range
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mark — a trace

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