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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 get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chip — for betting
  6. cell — a phone
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. hand — help
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kick — in football
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — part of the body
  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