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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bear · arm · plane · scale · chip · chest · cold · land

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. land — a country
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. land — ground
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bear — the animal
  10. plane — a tool
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. land — to come down
  14. bear — the animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. chest — a box
  20. cold — an illness
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — of your body

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