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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · shower · scale · wound · mate · leaves · bat · pound

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — low music
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mate — a partner
  15. scale — in music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. shower — rain
  19. pound — a weight
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pound — for dogs

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