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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: scale · pitcher · cue · content · bat · wound · land · key

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. land — ground
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. content — happy
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. land — a country
  14. key — for a lock
  15. scale — in music
  16. cue — a signal
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cue — for pool
  22. key — in music
  23. content — the amount
  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