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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 116 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. last — final
  3. chip — for betting
  4. spell — a short time
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. spell — magic
  7. race — a contest
  8. spell — letters
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. race — the arms race
  11. last — to go on
  12. snap — to click
  13. band — a ring
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. last — finally
  24. race — humankind

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