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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: chair · cap · staff · rock · bat · march · game · scale

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. scale — size or range
  3. march — music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. game — a match
  7. chair — a leader
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rock — a stone
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bat — the animal
  12. staff — employees
  13. rock — music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cap — a lid
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. staff — employees

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