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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: bat · pass · chest · ground · saw · degree · scale · bass

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bass — the fish
  3. saw — the tool
  4. scale — size or range
  5. ground — a position
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. chest — a box
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bass — low music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pass — a permit
  18. degree — temperature
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. scale — in music
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. bat — in an idiom

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