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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. pop — soda
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rash — hasty
  12. fall — the season
  13. ground — a position
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. chest — a box
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. chip — to eat
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kick — in football
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rash — a series
  23. pop — music
  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