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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. staff — employees
  5. chip — to eat
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cell — in biology
  10. pop — to visit
  11. staff — a stick
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chest — a box
  16. staff — employees
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pop — soda
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cell — a phone

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