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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kid — to tease
  3. face — to point toward
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. track — a path
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. face — part of the head
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. face — to confront
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. content — happy
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. content — the amount
  24. track — a song

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