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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. 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. chest — a box
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. scale — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pit — a hole
  16. chip — for betting
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fork — in a road
  19. pit — in a race
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. game — a match
  22. chip — to eat
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. 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