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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 120 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 · row · arm · chip · staff · hand · fine · mine

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. fine — all right
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chip — to eat
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fine — high quality
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. hand — help
  10. scale — in music
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. staff — employees
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. staff — a stick
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. scale — size or range
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. hand — in cards

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