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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. scale — size or range
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. hand — help
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. wax — to grow
  22. scale — in music
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. saw — the tool

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