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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: hand · mine · roll · fine · squash · shower · scale · cue

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. roll — a cake
  3. mine — for digging
  4. scale — in music
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. cue — for pool
  7. shower — rain
  8. scale — size or range
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cue — a signal
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. shower — to wash
  17. squash — to crush
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. fine — high quality
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. squash — the sport
  23. cue — a hint
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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