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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: deal · march · object · court · saw · bass · pitcher · scale

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. saw — the tool
  4. march — the month
  5. object — to protest
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. scale — in music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — for sport
  15. bass — low music
  16. court — of law
  17. object — an aim
  18. march — music
  19. deal — to handle
  20. object — a thing
  21. court — of a king
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. march — the month

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