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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: bat · current · bound · ground · chest · cue · wound · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. current — of water
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — size or range
  5. current — electric
  6. cue — a hint
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. current — happening now
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — certain
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cue — a signal
  18. ground — a position
  19. cue — for pool
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chest — a box
  24. ground — crushed

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