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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chip — for betting
  5. current — of water
  6. lean — thin
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. current — electric
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. current — happening now
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stock — shares
  23. lean — to bend
  24. stock — goods

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