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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · chair · coach · bat · degree · land · craft · tear

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. land — to come down
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — an amount
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. craft — boats
  10. scale — in music
  11. degree — from a university
  12. land — a country
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. scale — size or range
  17. craft — a skill
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. land — ground
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chair — a leader

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