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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. chip — to eat
  3. kid — child
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. pound — a weight
  8. band — a ring
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. band — a music group
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. vault — a safe
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. game — wild animals
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. game — a match

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