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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 120 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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chip — to eat
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. game — a match
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stem — of a plant

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