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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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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 · chair · fork · tear · board · scale

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. board — a committee
  8. scale — in music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fork — in a road
  18. board — to get on

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