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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wound — an injury
  3. chip — for betting
  4. bound — tied together
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. object — to protest
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. hand — help
  11. kick — in football
  12. object — a thing
  13. bound — certain
  14. spring — of water
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. object — an aim
  19. chip — to eat
  20. spring — the season
  21. bound — obliged
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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