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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: file · ruler · bat · scale · bay · wind · key · pop

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. key — for a lock
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bat — the animal
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pop — soda
  13. scale — in music
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. key — in music
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. scale — size or range
  21. file — a document
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pop — music
  24. ruler — for measuring

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