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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: scale · hide · cell · wound · leaves · club · mouse · straw

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. club — a group
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. club — for golf
  9. scale — in music
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. club — for dancing
  20. cell — in biology
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — a phone
  24. wound — an injury

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