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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. fine — all right
  5. row — a line
  6. court — of law
  7. face — to confront
  8. kid — to tease
  9. face — part of the head
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. face — to point toward
  13. deal — to handle
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chip — to eat
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. row — to paddle
  23. tube — the underground
  24. kid — child

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