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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: last · toast · pitch · stem · bat · hand · file · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. hand — help
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. hand — in cards
  5. last — finally
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. last — final
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pitch — completely
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. scale — in music
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stem — to come from
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. toast — bread

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