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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 116 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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. spell — magic
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — a coil
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. race — humankind
  10. spring — of water
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. land — a country
  13. spring — the season
  14. chip — to eat
  15. land — ground
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rock — a stone
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. land — to come down
  22. chip — for betting
  23. rock — music
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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