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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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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: swing · object · chip · wind · board · scale · bat · prune

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — moving air
  4. scale — in music
  5. object — to protest
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. swing — to play on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. board — a committee
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. swing — music
  16. object — an aim
  17. bat — the animal
  18. swing — in golf
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chip — for betting
  22. object — a thing
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. board — to get on

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