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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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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: chest · pitch · chip · swing · pitcher · scale · perch · fine

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fine — all right
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fine — high quality
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. scale — in music
  24. perch — for a bird

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