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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. staff — a stick
  3. spell — letters
  4. chip — to eat
  5. rash — a series
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. staff — employees
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. sharp — clever
  11. squash — the sport
  12. staff — employees
  13. spell — a short time
  14. roll — a list
  15. squash — to crush
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rash — hasty
  21. date — the fruit
  22. chip — for betting
  23. spell — magic
  24. date — on the calendar

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