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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 · rock · bear · file · bay · kid · swing · roll

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bear — the animal
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. kid — child
  7. scale — in music
  8. rock — music
  9. swing — music
  10. roll — a list
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bear — the animal
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. file — a document
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. file — a tool
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. file — a line of people

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