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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. tube — the underground
  6. band — a ring
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. land — a country
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. land — to come down
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. bark — to shout
  16. tube — a container
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. kid — child
  21. band — a music group
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. lash — an eyelash

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