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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 116 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: tear · bass · bound · wound · cap · spell · plane · scale

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. spell — letters
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cap — a lid
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. spell — magic
  12. wound — an injury
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bound — certain
  16. scale — in music
  17. bound — obliged
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cap — a hat
  24. tear — to rip

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