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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 116 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chip — for betting
  4. court — of law
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. content — happy
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. content — the amount
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bat — the animal
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kick — in football
  24. tube — in a tire

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