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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: chest · calf · chip · scale · present · cap · pitch · rash

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. chest — of your body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chest — of your body
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. present — a gift
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — of ice
  10. pitch — completely
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rash — hasty
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. rash — a series
  19. present — there
  20. scale — in music
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chest — a box
  23. chip — for betting
  24. scale — for weighing

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