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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: scale · leaves · court · hand · foot · band · wound · press

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. foot — a measure
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. court — for sport
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. band — a ring
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. press — newspapers
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. court — of law
  17. press — to push
  18. hand — help
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. band — a music group
  21. scale — in music
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. court — of a king
  24. press — a publisher

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