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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: scale · chest · bowl · dip · wound · club · clip · file

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chest — a box
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chest — of your body
  5. clip — to cut
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. dip — to sink
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. scale — size or range
  14. file — a tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. file — a line of people
  17. club — for golf
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. clip — a video
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. scale — in music
  22. clip — for paper
  23. club — for dancing
  24. dip — to dunk

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