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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: bat · stock · chest · last · roll · march · ruler · scale

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. chest — a box
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. march — music
  10. roll — a list
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — shares
  13. last — finally
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. stock — goods
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. bat — the animal

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