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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: ground · rock · bat · game · jam · wave · clip · scale

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rock — a stone
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — wild animals
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. game — a match
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. scale — in music
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. clip — to cut
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. clip — a video
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bat — the animal

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