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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: bass · deal · saw · rock · court · net · scale · spring

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. scale — size or range
  3. net — for catching
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bass — low music
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. rock — a stone
  9. net — in sport
  10. bass — the fish
  11. net — after costs
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. court — of law
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. deal — to handle
  20. scale — in music
  21. court — of a king
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rock — music

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