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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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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 · fan · bay · chest · perch · roll · tear · ground

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chest — of your body
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. ground — the earth
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — a position
  15. chest — a box
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. tear — to rip
  22. chest — of your body
  23. roll — a cake
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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