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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ball — a dance
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chip — to eat
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ball — a great time
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chip — for betting
  21. game — a match
  22. game — wild animals
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. game — a kind of play

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