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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: bowl · tear · kid · scale · trunk · wind · season · net

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. net — in sport
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — child
  6. tear — from crying
  7. season — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. season — of the year
  10. kid — to tease
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. net — for catching
  14. scale — size or range
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. tear — to rip
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wind — moving air

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