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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kick — in football
  3. chip — to eat
  4. cap — of ice
  5. current — happening now
  6. cap — a lid
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. court — of law
  9. court — of a king
  10. cap — a hat
  11. court — for sport
  12. chip — for betting
  13. current — of water
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. current — electric
  17. row — to paddle
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. row — a line
  24. spell — magic

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