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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: current · scale · bat · wind · tear · deal

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. deal — to handle
  3. current — electric
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bat — the animal
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. current — happening now
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — in music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. current — of water

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