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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 120 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: squash · face · bat · net · scale · spring · leaves · game

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. spring — the season
  3. bat — the animal
  4. game — a match
  5. spring — of water
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. face — part of the head
  10. scale — in music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. net — for catching
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. face — to confront
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — after costs
  20. game — wild animals
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. squash — the sport
  24. net — in sport

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