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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
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: bat · wax · ground · pound · scale · kick · clip · date

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. date — the fruit
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. pound — a weight
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. kick — in football
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wax — to grow
  11. scale — in music
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bat — the animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ground — a position
  24. wax — in the ear

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