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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: scale · swing · bat · last · hand · fall · safe · mark

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bat — the animal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hand — help
  7. fall — the season
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. hand — in cards
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. scale — in music
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. swing — in golf
  19. last — finally
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — to go on

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