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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: chip · bulb · scale · track · bat · saw · hide · row

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. saw — the tool
  4. track — a song
  5. chip — for betting
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. saw — the tool
  15. scale — in music
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bulb — for light
  18. track — a path
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chip — to eat
  23. row — a line
  24. hide — animal skin

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