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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: stand · scale · net · cell · chip · chest · wind · present

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. present — a gift
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. present — the time now
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — in music
  12. present — there
  13. scale — size or range
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stand — to bear
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. net — in sport
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. net — for catching

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