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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: cell · bat · scale · bark · temple · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cell — a phone
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — in biology
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wind — moving air

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