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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
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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: bat · clip · rest · fall · bass · pass · land · scale

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. fall — to drop
  9. scale — in music
  10. bass — low music
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bat — the animal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — what's left
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bass — the fish

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