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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. net — for catching
  4. cap — a lid
  5. kid — child
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. last — final
  11. net — after costs
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. last — finally
  19. net — in sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. kid — to tease
  22. last — to go on
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — belonging to me

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