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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: rock · squash · saw · cold · bass · scale · spring · net

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rock — a stone
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spring — of water
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rock — music
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. cold — an illness
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spring — the season
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. squash — the sport

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