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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tube — a container
  4. chip — to eat
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. tube — the underground
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in biology
  18. plane — a tool
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. cell — a phone
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. chip — in a computer

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