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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. lean — thin
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. kid — to tease
  10. saw — the tool
  11. perch — the fish
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. content — the amount
  14. kid — child
  15. content — happy
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. saw — the tool
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. cell — a phone
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chip — in a computer

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