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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: content · leaves · scale · deal · bat · lash · tear · bass

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. content — the amount
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bass — low music
  14. scale — in music
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — to handle
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bass — the fish
  19. content — happy
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bat — in an idiom

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