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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: leaves · squash · wound · last · spring · scale · bass · land

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — the season
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. land — ground
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. land — to come down
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. last — to go on
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — to crush
  17. scale — size or range
  18. squash — the sport
  19. land — a country
  20. scale — in music
  21. spring — of water
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bass — low music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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