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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cue — a signal
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. game — a match
  7. last — to go on
  8. cue — for pool
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. cue — a hint
  11. last — final
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. date — the fruit
  16. squash — to crush
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. last — finally
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chip — for betting

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