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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kid — child
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chip — for betting
  9. snap — to click
  10. squash — to crush
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. kid — to tease
  14. land — ground
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. stem — to come from
  24. land — to come down

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