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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. swing — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — a position
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chip — for betting
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — tied together
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bound — obliged
  16. snap — to click
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bound — certain
  24. swing — to play on

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