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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: ground · temple · foot · mate · band · clip · track · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a partner
  6. ground — a position
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. scale — size or range
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. mate — a friend
  11. clip — to cut
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. foot — a measure
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. band — a ring
  18. track — a song
  19. track — a path
  20. track — to keep track
  21. band — a music group
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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