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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. net — after costs
  5. chip — for betting
  6. tube — a container
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tube — the underground
  11. spring — a coil
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. spring — the season
  15. net — in sport
  16. squash — the sport
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chip — to eat
  20. net — for catching
  21. lean — thin
  22. spring — of water
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. squash — to crush

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