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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. chip — for betting
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. charge — in control
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. roll — a cake
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. roll — a list
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hand — help
  13. spring — the season
  14. charge — a price
  15. stem — to come from
  16. kid — to tease
  17. charge — electricity
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. chip — to eat
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. kid — child

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