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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 120 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 · fall · charge · sharp · game · net · bulb · scale

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. charge — a price
  4. scale — in music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. net — in sport
  10. charge — in control
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fall — the season
  13. charge — electricity
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bulb — for light
  16. scale — size or range
  17. net — after costs
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. net — for catching
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chest — a box
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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