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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: club · pound · land · cap · scale · cell

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. scale — size or range
  8. club — a group
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. land — a country
  13. scale — in music
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. club — for golf
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. land — to come down
  18. cell — in a prison

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