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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — child
  5. pound — a weight
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. last — final
  12. pop — soda
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chip — for betting
  19. last — to go on
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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