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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. wind — moving air
  6. fine — all right
  7. snap — to click
  8. chip — for betting
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fine — high quality
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bound — tied together
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wind — moving air

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