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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. land — to come down
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — in control
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. march — the month
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. march — music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chip — for betting
  14. charge — a price
  15. chest — a box
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. land — ground
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. land — a country
  23. chip — to eat
  24. march — the month

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