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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 116 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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wound — an injury
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rest — a break
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. track — a song
  15. cap — a hat
  16. rest — what's left
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. track — to keep track
  19. wound — an injury
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. track — a path
  22. plane — a tool
  23. chip — for betting
  24. spring — of water

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