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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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468
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: rest · mark · tube · scale · fork · hand · lean · racket

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. lean — thin
  4. hand — help
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rest — a break
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. tube — a container
  13. rest — what's left
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. scale — in music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. scale — size or range
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. fork — in a road

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