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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 120 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 ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. charge — a price
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. pit — a hole
  7. charge — electricity
  8. chip — to eat
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. chest — a box
  11. game — a match
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. track — a path
  16. tube — a container
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — a song
  20. charge — in control
  21. track — to keep track
  22. chip — for betting
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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