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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 like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. scale — size or range
  3. game — a match
  4. chip — for betting
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. content — the amount
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — to drop
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. content — happy
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. scale — in music
  24. arm — part of the body

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