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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: shower · chip · bat · scale · game · can · rest · march

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. can — to be able to
  7. bat — the animal
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rest — a break
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. game — a match
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chip — for betting
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. chip — to eat
  19. scale — size or range
  20. march — the month
  21. can — a tin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. march — music
  24. game — a kind of play

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