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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: date · rock · spring · scale · arm · shower · bound · file

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spring — the season
  3. file — a line of people
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. spring — a coil
  6. date — the fruit
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — to wash
  13. file — a tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bound — obliged
  18. scale — in music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. file — a document
  21. scale — size or range
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. spring — of water
  24. bound — certain

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