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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.

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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: perch · chest · chip · object · bat · spell · wax · rule

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. object — a thing
  7. spell — a short time
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rule — government
  11. perch — the fish
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spell — magic
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rule — a law
  20. spell — letters
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. object — an aim
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bat — for baseball

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