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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. chip — to eat
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cue — for pool
  7. rush — hurry
  8. clip — to cut
  9. chest — a box
  10. cue — a hint
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cue — a signal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. chip — for betting
  18. clip — a video

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