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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 116 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chip — for betting
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tube — the underground
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. snap — to click
  16. tube — a container
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  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