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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 120 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: wake · foot · mouse · bat · coach · land · scale · lash

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. land — ground
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — to come down
  5. foot — a measure
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. scale — in music
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. land — a country
  14. scale — size or range
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bat — the animal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. wake — a trail
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. scale — for weighing

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