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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · sharp · leaves · cell · land · bass · wax · spell

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spell — letters
  7. scale — in music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. spell — magic
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in biology
  15. land — ground
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. spell — a short time
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bass — low music
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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