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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — a list
  4. shower — rain
  5. scale — in music
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spring — of water
  8. chest — a box
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. spring — the season
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. shower — to wash
  16. pass — a permit
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. scale — size or range
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. chip — for betting

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