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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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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 · bank · hide · plane · bat · scale · band · coach

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bank — for money
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bank — for money
  13. band — a ring
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. plane — a tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. ground — a position
  22. scale — in music
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ground — the earth

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