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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: rock · bulb · roll · staff · tear · scale · bat · fall

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bulb — for light
  3. staff — a stick
  4. roll — a list
  5. fall — to drop
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fall — to drop
  14. roll — a cake
  15. bulb — for light
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rock — music
  22. staff — employees
  23. fall — the season
  24. scale — in music

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