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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cue — a signal
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cell — a phone
  6. hand — in cards
  7. last — to go on
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. cell — in biology
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hand — help
  14. row — a line
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chip — for betting
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. last — final
  21. cue — for pool
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. last — finally
  24. cell — in a prison

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