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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: scale · roll · sharp · hand · foot · mouse · pitcher · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. foot — a measure
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — help
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. scale — in music
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. sharp — clever
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. scale — for weighing

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