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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: tear · leaves · scale · wake · present · pop · mine · bass

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. present — the time now
  3. bass — low music
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. pop — to visit
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. scale — in music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bass — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — music
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. tear — from crying
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. wake — a trail
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. scale — size or range

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