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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 120 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spring — of water
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. chip — for betting
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — a line
  14. shower — rain
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — to wash
  18. row — to paddle

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