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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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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 · bound · land · file · net · face · rash · scale

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. net — in sport
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. face — to confront
  6. bound — tied together
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. file — a document
  10. land — ground
  11. file — a tool
  12. face — to point toward
  13. scale — size or range
  14. land — to come down
  15. net — after costs
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. land — a country
  19. net — for catching
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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