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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: bass · fine · scale · pitcher · foot · content · spell · row

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. row — a line
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. scale — in music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. foot — a measure
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bass — low music
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. spell — a short time
  16. content — the amount
  17. fine — all right
  18. spell — magic
  19. scale — size or range
  20. row — to paddle
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. content — happy
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. content — videos and posts

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