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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · clip · squash · bat · scale · band · rest · bowl

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. scale — in music
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. scale — size or range
  8. clip — a video
  9. rest — what's left
  10. band — a ring
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. band — a music group
  13. rest — a break
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — help
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. hand — in cards
  24. clip — to cut

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