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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 116 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 · hand · spell · scale · bulb · bat

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. 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. scale — size or range
  2. ground — a position
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spell — letters
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. spell — a short time
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bulb — for light
  13. scale — in music
  14. spell — magic
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hand — help
  18. scale — for weighing

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