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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 · bark · pop · jam · rest · last · mine · ball

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. scale — in music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. last — final
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. rest — what's left
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pop — soda
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. last — to go on
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — music
  21. ball — a great time
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. ball — a round shape

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