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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: cold · chip · ruler · chest · arm · track · tube · scale

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. chip — for betting
  4. track — a path
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chest — of your body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. track — to keep track
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. scale — size or range
  16. tube — a container
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. scale — in music
  19. track — a song
  20. chest — a box
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. chip — to eat
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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