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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. row — a line
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lean — thin
  9. spell — letters
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. ball — a dance
  13. race — a contest
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. race — humankind
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spell — a short time
  19. race — the arms race
  20. ball — a great time
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spell — magic
  24. wound — an injury

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