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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 120 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chip — for betting
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — soda
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pit — in a race
  11. band — a music group
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. band — a ring
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. pit — a hole
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. pop — music
  21. shower — to wash
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — a box
  24. shower — rain

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