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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: row · chair · scale · calf · bat · fall · file · wax

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. file — a tool
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a document
  15. fall — the season
  16. scale — in music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. scale — size or range
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. row — a line

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