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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 124 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chip — for betting
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wound — an injury
  10. content — happy
  11. pop — music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. pop — to visit
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. content — the amount
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pop — soda
  21. bat — the animal
  22. snap — to click
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — videos and posts

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