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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: drill · court · hand · perch · scale · bat · last · ball

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — the tool
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. drill — army training
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. last — finally
  8. court — of law
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. last — to go on
  11. hand — in cards
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hand — help
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. court — for sport
  17. last — final
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. perch — the fish
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. court — of a king
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — part of the body

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