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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: scale · bear · shower · pitch · lean · pop · bat · bass

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bass — the fish
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pop — music
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bass — low music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. scale — in music
  18. pop — soda
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. shower — rain

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