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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cue — a signal
  4. game — a match
  5. face — to confront
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cue — for pool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — to rip
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rash — hasty
  13. chip — for betting
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cue — a hint
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. rash — a series
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — wild animals
  23. kick — in football
  24. face — part of the head

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