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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: chip · bay · lean · swing · drill · cold · scale · last

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. last — to go on
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. swing — music
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — to play on
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. chip — for betting
  16. last — final
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. last — finally
  19. lean — thin
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — size or range
  22. drill — a practice
  23. swing — in golf
  24. lean — to bend

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