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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · last · bark · saw · chair · date · bat · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. last — finally
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bark — to shout
  14. last — to go on
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. last — final
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bat — the animal
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. chair — a professorship

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