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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rash — a series
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. rash — hasty
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a document
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. game — wild animals
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chip — to eat
  24. game — a match

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