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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: key · bat · perch · vault · tear · mine · band · scale

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. scale — in music
  3. tear — from crying
  4. band — a music group
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tear — to rip
  9. vault — a safe
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. key — in music
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — size or range
  20. mine — for digging
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. key — the most important part

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