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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. track — to keep track
  3. deal — to handle
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. track — a path
  9. pound — a weight
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chip — to eat
  14. squash — to crush
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. capital — money
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. capital — a city
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. track — a song
  24. squash — the sport

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