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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: leaves · date · degree · pitch · bat · chip · content · scale

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. date — the fruit
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bat — the animal
  8. content — the amount
  9. degree — an amount
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. chip — for betting
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. content — happy
  19. pitch — completely
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. scale — in music
  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