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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. current — of water
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cue — a hint
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. chest — a box
  16. cue — a signal
  17. current — happening now
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. current — electric
  21. mine — for digging
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chip — in a computer

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