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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: squash · chest · foot · charge · roll · scale · pitcher · clip

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. clip — a video
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chest — of your body
  5. squash — the sport
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a list
  8. squash — to crush
  9. charge — a price
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. charge — in control
  12. scale — in music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — a box
  19. foot — a measure
  20. scale — size or range
  21. clip — for paper
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. roll — a cake
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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