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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chip — to eat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. chip — for betting
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spring — the season
  7. cap — of ice
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. spell — magic
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. last — final
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spring — of water
  20. cell — in biology
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spell — letters
  24. cap — a hat

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