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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. firm — a company
  4. key — for a lock
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chip — to eat
  7. game — a match
  8. key — in music
  9. mark — a grade
  10. chip — for betting
  11. firm — steady
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. firm — decided
  15. mark — a trace
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. key — the most important part
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pop — to visit
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. kid — child

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