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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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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: scale · wax · squash · cell · mark · chair · pitch · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — a grade
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. scale — in music
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wax — to grow
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. squash — to crush
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. squash — the sport
  24. 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