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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. chip — to eat
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to point toward
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. chip — for betting
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. clip — a video
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. snap — to click
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. face — to confront
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rash — a series
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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