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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. band — a ring
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rock — a stone
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — help
  12. last — final
  13. rock — music
  14. last — to go on
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. prune — to trim
  17. last — finally
  18. band — a music group
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — to eat
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rock — to move gently

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