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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: ball · scale · wind · straw · chip · cap · march · craft

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. chip — to eat
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. craft — boats
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chip — for betting
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. scale — in music
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. march — the month
  20. craft — a skill
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a great time
  23. scale — size or range
  24. craft — a handicraft

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