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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. chip — for betting
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — a short time
  6. chest — a box
  7. wound — an injury
  8. press — newspapers
  9. snap — to click
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wind — moving air
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spell — magic
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chip — to eat
  20. press — to push
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. press — a publisher
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spell — letters

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