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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. swing — in golf
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. chip — for betting
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. game — wild animals
  11. spring — of water
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. scale — in music
  14. chip — to eat
  15. swing — to play on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. spring — the season
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. swing — music
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pound — a weight

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