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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: net · chip · face · bat · roll · scale · march · dip

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. face — to confront
  3. net — after costs
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. roll — a list
  6. scale — in music
  7. chip — to eat
  8. march — music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. face — part of the head
  14. net — in sport
  15. march — the month
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. net — for catching
  20. march — the month
  21. roll — a cake
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. dip — to sink

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