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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. content — the amount
  3. land — to come down
  4. present — a gift
  5. tube — a container
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pitch — completely
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. net — after costs
  11. content — happy
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. net — in sport
  16. present — the time now
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — ground
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. land — a country
  23. tube — the underground
  24. present — there

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