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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chip — to eat
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. bat — the animal

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