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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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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: saw · club · toast · content · scale · pit · bat · bank

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. scale — size or range
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. saw — the tool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pit — a hole
  10. bank — for money
  11. content — happy
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. toast — bread
  17. content — the amount
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bat — the animal
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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