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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 · wake · scale · lean · mate · mine · pitch · wave

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. scale — in music
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — thin
  18. mate — a friend
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wake — a trail

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