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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: bat · cue · rest · clip · lean · scale · game · ball

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. scale — in music
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rest — what's left
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — a video
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cue — a hint
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rest — a break
  16. lean — thin
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cue — a signal
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. game — a match
  24. ball — a dance

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