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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. last — to go on
  2. kid — child
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chip — to eat
  5. press — to push
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. last — final
  9. press — a publisher
  10. track — a path
  11. last — finally
  12. cap — a hat
  13. track — a song
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. chip — for betting
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cap — of ice
  20. press — newspapers
  21. track — to keep track
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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