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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: fine · scale · perch · bat · can · spring · fork · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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. roll — a cake
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. spring — the season
  4. can — a tin
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — high quality
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. fork — in a road
  10. spring — of water
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. roll — a list
  16. can — a tin
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — a coil
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. scale — in music
  22. can — to be able to
  23. perch — the fish
  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