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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. mine — for digging
  3. shower — to wash
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. shower — rain
  9. content — the amount
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. file — a tool
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. file — a document
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chip — to eat
  22. file — a line of people
  23. content — happy
  24. mine — an explosive

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