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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: foot · rest · pound · track · last · clip · ball · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. last — to go on
  3. rest — a break
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. ball — a great time
  7. pound — a weight
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. foot — a measure
  12. clip — for paper
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. track — a song
  15. clip — a video
  16. last — final
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. track — to keep track
  19. scale — in music
  20. last — finally
  21. track — a path
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rest — what's left

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