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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chip — for betting
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pop — music
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. mine — for digging
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. face — to confront
  13. perch — the fish
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. chip — to eat
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pound — a weight
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. perch — for a bird

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