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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fine — all right
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pit — a hole
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. fine — high quality
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — child
  24. cap — of ice

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