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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: pit · wound · shower · scale · arm · straw · coach · clip

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. shower — rain
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pit — in a race
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. clip — to cut
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pit — a hole
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wound — an injury
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. shower — to wash
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. straw — a straw man

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