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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · ball · tube · spring · straw · bay · tear · swing

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. scale — in music
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. swing — in golf
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. spring — the season
  19. scale — size or range
  20. spring — of water
  21. tube — a container
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. swing — 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