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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. craft — boats
  3. land — ground
  4. perch — the fish
  5. pop — to visit
  6. charge — electricity
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pop — soda
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pop — music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kid — child
  14. spell — letters
  15. land — to come down
  16. spell — a short time
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — in control
  20. land — a country
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chip — to eat

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