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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chip — for betting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chest — a box
  14. cell — a phone
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. object — to protest
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. wind — moving air
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. cell — in biology

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