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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — to tire
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. tube — a container
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cap — a lid
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cap — a hat
  16. spell — letters
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chip — in a computer

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