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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. chip — for betting
  2. content — the amount
  3. kid — child
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rock — music
  7. plane — a tool
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. branch — a division
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. content — happy
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. kid — to tease
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rock — a stone
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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