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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. chip — to eat
  2. staff — a stick
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. scale — size or range
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mine — for digging
  8. chip — for betting
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. band — a ring
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. field — farmland
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. staff — employees
  18. field — for sport
  19. staff — employees
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. band — a music group
  22. scale — in music
  23. field — a subject
  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