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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chip — for betting
  3. chip — to eat
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bear — the animal
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. court — for sport
  10. fall — the season
  11. content — the amount
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. court — of law
  17. file — a tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pit — in a race
  24. court — of a king

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