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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chest — of your body
  8. land — a country
  9. content — happy
  10. land — ground
  11. wind — moving air
  12. sharp — clever
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wind — moving air
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chest — a box
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chest — of your body

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