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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spell — a short time
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. chip — to eat
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chest — of your body
  11. spring — the season
  12. degree — an amount
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — a line
  15. spring — of water
  16. chest — a box
  17. degree — from a university
  18. content — happy
  19. degree — temperature
  20. chest — of your body
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. content — the amount
  23. spell — magic
  24. row — to paddle

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