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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: last · band · rush · jam · lie · scale · board · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. board — to get on
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. last — final
  6. bat — the animal
  7. last — to go on
  8. board — a committee
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. scale — in music
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. band — a ring
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. last — finally
  18. band — a music group
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. board — a flat piece
  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