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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: wake · chair · bore · last · scale · bowl

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. last — to go on
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. wake — a trail
  10. scale — in music
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. last — finally
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. scale — size or range

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