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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: march · scale · tube · stick · bat · court · stand · hand

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. court — of law
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bat — the animal
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. scale — in music
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. tube — the underground
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stand — to bear

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