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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. content — happy
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. field — a subject
  7. kick — in football
  8. content — the amount
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mine — for digging
  13. field — farmland
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. field — for sport
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chip — for betting
  24. ground — a position

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