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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.

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: chair · hand · swing · current · kid · face · scale · perch

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. kid — child
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. face — part of the head
  5. scale — in music
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. current — electric
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. swing — music
  12. perch — the fish
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kid — to tease
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. current — happening now
  17. hand — in cards
  18. current — of water
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — a leader
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — part of the body

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