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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: cold · bat · bowl · toast · scale · lean

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. scale — size or range
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — to bend
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lean — thin
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bat — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. toast — bread

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