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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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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: club · mine · rest · present · lash · bat · scale · chip

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. scale — in music
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chip — to eat
  5. club — a group
  6. rest — a break
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. present — there
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. present — the time now
  12. scale — size or range
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. present — a gift
  15. rest — what's left
  16. mine — for digging
  17. chip — for betting
  18. rest — what's left
  19. club — for golf
  20. bat — the animal
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. club — for dancing

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