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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a match
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. spell — a short time
  6. spell — letters
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — wild animals
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. hand — help
  17. face — part of the head
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. key — in music
  20. face — to point toward
  21. deal — to handle
  22. face — to confront
  23. hand — in cards
  24. chip — for betting

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