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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 · stand · wind · bark · tube · season · wound · spring

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. tube — the underground
  4. stand — to bear
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. season — in sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. scale — in music
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. season — of the year
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. spring — the season
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spring — of water
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. scale — for weighing

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