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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: object · pitch · mate · bark · scale · saw · rush · bat

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. mate — a partner
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rush — hurry
  9. mate — to breed
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. saw — the tool
  14. mate — a friend
  15. scale — in music
  16. pitch — completely
  17. object — a thing
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — for baseball

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