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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bark — to shout
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chip — for betting
  8. staff — a stick
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. rest — a break
  11. tube — the underground
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cap — of ice
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — employees
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. tube — a container

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