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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: bay · pop · roll · bat · hide · rest · scale · spring

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. spring — a coil
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. spring — the season
  7. roll — a list
  8. rest — what's left
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. rest — what's left
  14. scale — in music
  15. pop — soda
  16. spring — of water
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pop — to visit
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pop — music
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rest — a break
  24. scale — size or range

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