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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: tube · rock · scale · roll · wake · ball · clip · last

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. ball — a dance
  3. wake — a trail
  4. tube — the underground
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. rock — music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. last — final
  10. rock — a stone
  11. scale — in music
  12. last — to go on
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. clip — for paper
  17. roll — a list
  18. clip — a video
  19. last — finally
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. tube — a container
  22. clip — to cut
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. roll — a cake

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