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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 · key · scale · kid · roll · row · chest · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chest — of your body
  4. key — for a lock
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chip — to eat
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. row — a line
  9. scale — in music
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. key — in music
  13. roll — a cake
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. key — the most important part
  17. kid — child
  18. row — to paddle
  19. roll — a list
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chest — of your body
  22. scale — size or range
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a skill

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