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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: hide · mouse · scale · track · spring · march · last · bat

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. march — the month
  3. track — a path
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. last — to go on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. track — to keep track
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. march — music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. last — finally
  17. track — a song
  18. spring — of water
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — final
  21. march — the month
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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