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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: ball · bass · bay · scale · trunk · wake · cell · wind

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. scale — in music
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. bass — the fish
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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