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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. track — a song
  3. roll — a cake
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wind — moving air
  6. kid — to tease
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — child
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. spell — a short time
  17. roll — a list
  18. wind — to turn a key

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