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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 116 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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. land — a country
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bat — the animal
  6. land — ground
  7. chip — for betting
  8. ball — a great time
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. chair — a leader
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — to come down
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. scale — in music
  22. ball — a dance
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. ball — a round shape

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