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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. chip — to eat
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. game — wild animals
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. game — a match
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chip — for betting
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. swing — to play on
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bark — to shout

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