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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. chip — for betting
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mine — for digging
  6. kid — child
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — to confront
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kid — to tease
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. face — part of the head
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. object — an aim

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