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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: scale · bat · fork · chest · rule · chip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rule — government
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box

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