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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 120 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: ball · pound · nail · bat · scale · net · coach · kick

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. net — for catching
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. net — in sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pound — a weight
  12. kick — in football
  13. net — after costs
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. ball — a great time
  22. scale — size or range
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. coach — a trainer

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