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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: scale · racket · cold · pound · board · mine · net · bear

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — for catching
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. scale — in music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. board — to get on
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — after costs
  18. board — a committee
  19. net — in sport
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. racket — for tennis

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