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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: staff · scale · club · ball · cold · bound · rock · wake

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. staff — employees
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. staff — a stick
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rock — a stone
  11. club — a group
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wake — a trail
  15. club — for dancing
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. rock — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. staff — employees
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bound — obliged

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