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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 · perch · present · bay · chip · spring · bat · cold

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chip — to eat
  4. present — a gift
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. present — the time now
  7. spring — a coil
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bat — the animal
  11. scale — size or range
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. scale — in music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. present — there
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spring — of water
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spring — the season
  24. perch — for a bird

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