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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — a stick
  3. snap — to click
  4. game — wild animals
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. can — a tin
  12. prune — to trim
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. cell — in biology
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bear — the animal
  18. staff — employees
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cell — a phone
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chip — to eat
  23. staff — employees
  24. chip — for betting

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