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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: season · scale · chest · roll · pitcher · sharp · current · bat

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. bat — the animal
  3. current — electric
  4. sharp — clever
  5. current — happening now
  6. chest — a box
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. current — of water
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. roll — a cake
  11. scale — size or range
  12. roll — a list
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. chest — of your body
  17. scale — in music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — in sport
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. season — of the year
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. sharp — exactly

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