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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.

Words on the sheet
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: scale · jam · bound · leaves · perch · chip · prune · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chip — for betting
  3. scale — size or range
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bound — certain
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cold — an illness
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bound — obliged
  17. perch — the fish
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. prune — to trim
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. chip — to eat

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