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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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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: snap · scale · row · wound · ground · club · bat · cap

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. scale — in music
  3. snap — to click
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cap — a hat
  9. ground — crushed
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. wound — an injury
  12. club — for golf
  13. row — a line
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cap — of ice
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cap — a lid
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bat — the animal
  23. club — for dancing
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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