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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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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: spring · scale · ball · roll · stand · bat · bark · cap

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a hat
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. spring — of water
  9. scale — in music
  10. roll — a list
  11. spring — the season
  12. bat — the animal
  13. scale — size or range
  14. ball — a great time
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. cap — a lid

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