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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 120 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: bowl · saw · scale · sharp · hand · chest · bat · perch

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hand — help
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. scale — in music
  11. chest — of your body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. saw — the tool
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. chest — a box
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. hand — in cards
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chest — of your body
  24. perch — the fish

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