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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.

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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: hand · scale · pound · row · rush · bass · shower · spring

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bass — low music
  8. row — a line
  9. hand — in cards
  10. shower — rain
  11. rush — hurry
  12. spring — a coil
  13. row — to paddle
  14. spring — the season
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. hand — help
  22. bass — the fish
  23. spring — of water
  24. scale — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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