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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: saw · fine · rash · chest · chip · bat · perch · prune

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chip — for betting
  5. fine — all right
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chip — to eat
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. perch — the fish
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — a series
  17. fine — high quality
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — to trim

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