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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.

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: land · straw · scale · arm · tube · mine · chair · fan

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tube — a container
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. tube — the underground
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. chair — a leader
  19. land — to come down
  20. scale — in music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. fan — to cool the air

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