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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: perch · march · mark · charge · date · bat · sharp · scale

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. scale — in music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — a price
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. bat — the animal
  13. mark — a grade
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. charge — electricity
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. march — the month
  21. scale — size or range
  22. march — music
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. scale — for weighing

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