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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — a weight
  4. tube — a container
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tube — the underground
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. can — to be able to
  12. dip — to sink
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. can — a tin
  16. chip — for betting
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. clip — a video
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. clip — for paper
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. can — a tin

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