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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 · mug · tube · band · wake · hand · file · kick

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. scale — size or range
  4. hand — help
  5. band — a ring
  6. mug — to rob
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mug — a face
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. file — a tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. file — a document
  19. tube — the underground
  20. band — a music group
  21. tube — a container
  22. mug — a cup
  23. scale — in music
  24. file — a line of people

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