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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hand — in cards
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. foot — a measure
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bat — the animal
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. content — happy
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — help

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