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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tube — the underground
  4. tube — a container
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. land — a country
  11. squash — to crush
  12. chip — for betting
  13. land — ground
  14. chair — a leader
  15. plane — a tool
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. ground — a position
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. ground — crushed
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. arm — part of the body

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