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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 116 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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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: lean · bowl · tear · wave · scale · wound · bat · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wound — an injury
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — from crying
  12. scale — in music
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — for baseball

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