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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.

Make a worksheet

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: cold · tear · coach · sharp · mouse · scale · foot · bass

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bass — low music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. scale — size or range
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the fish
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. scale — in music
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. sharp — clever
  23. foot — a measure
  24. sharp — with an edge

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