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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
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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: shower · date · rest · scale · cell · field · sharp · suit

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. field — farmland
  3. scale — size or range
  4. suit — clothes
  5. field — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. suit — in cards
  8. sharp — clever
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rest — a break
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cell — in biology
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. scale — in music
  20. suit — to fit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — rain
  23. field — a subject
  24. date — the fruit

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