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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: snap · chair · pitcher · bat · tear · sharp · scale · mine

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. scale — in music
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chair — a leader
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. snap — to click
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tear — to rip
  23. mine — for digging
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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