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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bat — the animal
  6. tube — the underground
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. chip — to eat
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. key — in music
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. key — the most important part
  22. tube — a container
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lean — thin

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