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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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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 · bat · leaves · hand · tear · land · scale · deal

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. land — a country
  3. tear — to rip
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. hand — in cards
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. land — to come down
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. scale — in music
  13. foot — a measure
  14. hand — help
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. deal — to handle
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. scale — size or range
  20. land — ground
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. bat — for baseball

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