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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: kid · mug · mate · season · bat · ruler · scale · chest

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chest — a box
  3. kid — to tease
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — a partner
  6. scale — size or range
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. scale — in music
  9. kid — child
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mate — to breed
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. bat — the animal
  14. season — in sport
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mug — a face
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mug — to rob
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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