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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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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 · fine · perch · band · hand · scale · object · cell

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. ground — a position
  3. object — to protest
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cell — a phone
  8. scale — size or range
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. band — a ring
  13. scale — in music
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fine — all right
  16. perch — the fish
  17. band — a music group
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. ground — crushed
  20. cell — in biology
  21. hand — in cards
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — help

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