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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — for dancing
  4. hand — help
  5. chest — a box
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wind — moving air
  11. chip — for betting
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. club — for golf
  14. pop — soda
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pop — music
  21. last — to go on
  22. pop — to visit
  23. chip — to eat
  24. club — a group

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