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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. swing — in golf
  3. game — a match
  4. track — a song
  5. wound — an injury
  6. swing — music
  7. track — to keep track
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. track — a path
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. game — wild animals
  14. kid — child
  15. kick — in football
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. swing — to play on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hide — animal skin

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