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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: rash · chair · ball · sharp · shower · land · mine · scale

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. ball — a dance
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. scale — size or range
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. mine — for digging
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rash — a series
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rash — hasty
  18. scale — in music
  19. ball — a great time
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. land — a country

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