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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: file · mine · scale · chip · cap · season · kid · band

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cap — of ice
  3. kid — child
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. scale — size or range
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cap — a lid
  11. mine — for digging
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. file — a document
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cap — a hat
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. band — a ring
  19. kid — to tease
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. chip — for betting
  22. file — a tool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. band — a music group

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