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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: sharp · pit · shower · scale · rule · content · pitcher · fall

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rule — government
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rule — a law
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. scale — in music
  10. content — the amount
  11. pit — in a race
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. content — happy
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. fall — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. pit — a hole
  20. scale — size or range
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. sharp — clever
  24. scale — for weighing

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