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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 · arm · squash · bat · chair · fall · land · foot

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — a leader
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. fall — the season
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. scale — in music
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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