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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: land · deal · track · cell · dip · scale · shower · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. land — a country
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. shower — to wash
  7. track — a song
  8. present — a gift
  9. cell — in biology
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. shower — rain
  12. track — a path
  13. land — ground
  14. dip — to sink
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. land — to come down
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. scale — in music
  20. present — the time now
  21. cell — a phone
  22. scale — size or range
  23. deal — to handle
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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