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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: chip · degree · saw · prune · roll · tear · scale · wave

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chip — for betting
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. prune — to trim
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. saw — the tool
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. scale — size or range
  16. roll — a cake
  17. scale — in music
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. degree — from a university
  22. prune — to trim
  23. roll — a list
  24. tear — from crying

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