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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — a box
  7. present — there
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of a king
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. present — the time now
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. present — a gift
  16. snap — to click
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. court — for sport
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chip — for betting
  23. court — of law
  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