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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: scale · bat · chest · rest · bass · wave · wound · mine

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. scale — in music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rest — a break
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the instrument

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