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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 120 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: squash · face · bat · season · wound · scale · leaves · bore

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wound — an injury
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bat — the animal
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bore — to drill
  21. face — to confront
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bore — to tire

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