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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 120 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: ground · scale · cap · hand · rock · lean · shower · bowl

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. ground — a position
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. ground — the earth
  9. lean — thin
  10. scale — in music
  11. cap — a lid
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cap — of ice
  14. hand — help
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rock — a stone
  17. lean — to bend
  18. rock — music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. scale — size or range
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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