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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.

Words on the sheet
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: bat · band · wound · chest · hide · scale · charge · degree

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chest — a box
  10. scale — size or range
  11. charge — electricity
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. band — a music group
  15. charge — in control
  16. scale — in music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. band — a ring
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. degree — temperature
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — for weighing

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