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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. row — to paddle
  3. track — to keep track
  4. net — after costs
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chip — for betting
  12. row — a line
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. net — for catching
  16. branch — a division
  17. wind — moving air
  18. track — a path
  19. net — in sport
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. track — a song
  24. squash — to crush

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