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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chip · court · scale · wax · cap · bat · rash · stick

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. scale — in music
  8. chip — to eat
  9. rash — a series
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. scale — size or range
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cap — of ice
  21. court — for sport
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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