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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. court — for sport
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wax — to grow
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. file — a tool
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. file — a document
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. court — of law
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. court — of a king

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