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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: bowl · face · scale · rash · club · mine · ruler · straw

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. face — to confront
  6. club — for golf
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. rash — hasty
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. scale — size or range
  12. club — a group
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. rash — a series
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. scale — in music
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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