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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: scale · roll · tear · lean · mine · mate · net · can

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. roll — a cake
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. net — after costs
  5. scale — in music
  6. lean — to bend
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mate — a friend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. scale — size or range
  14. roll — a list
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. mate — a partner
  18. can — to be able to
  19. tear — to rip
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. mate — to breed
  22. net — for catching
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — in sport

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