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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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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 · object · fork · deal · cold · wave · scale · chair

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. object — an aim
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. scale — in music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. shower — rain
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. deal — to handle
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. object — a thing
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. object — to protest
  24. scale — size or range

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