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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
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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: file · ground · season · scale · straw · chip · squash · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. ground — the earth
  3. chip — to eat
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kid — child
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. file — a tool
  11. ground — crushed
  12. file — a document
  13. season — of the year
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. scale — size or range
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — in music
  21. ground — a position
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. squash — the sport

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