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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cap — of ice
  4. can — to be able to
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chest — of your body
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cap — a lid
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — the fish
  13. current — electric
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lean — thin
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. chest — a box
  19. cap — a hat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. current — of water
  23. game — a match
  24. current — happening now

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