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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. perch — the fish
  10. current — of water
  11. tear — from crying
  12. squash — the sport
  13. content — the amount
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. chip — for betting
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. current — happening now
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chest — of your body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. current — electric

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