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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. file — a document
  9. chip — for betting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chest — a box
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stand — to bear
  17. cell — a phone
  18. rash — a series
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chip — to eat
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. wax — for sculpting

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