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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — to eat
  3. spell — magic
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ground — crushed
  6. spell — letters
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spell — a short time
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to confront
  14. land — a country
  15. ground — a position
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wind — moving air

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