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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: land · pitch · bat · bass · bowl · roll · scale · board

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. board — a committee
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. roll — a list
  9. land — a country
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bass — low music
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. roll — a cake
  19. bass — the fish
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. pitch — completely
  22. board — to get on
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pitch — a sports field

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