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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. prune — to trim
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chip — for betting
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — there
  12. face — to point toward
  13. chip — to eat
  14. perch — the fish
  15. present — the time now
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — a country
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chest — a box
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. face — to confront

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