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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wind — moving air
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chip — for betting
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kid — to tease
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kid — child
  17. squash — the sport
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chip — to eat
  22. roll — a list
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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