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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. land — to come down
  3. tube — a container
  4. scale — in music
  5. wake — a trail
  6. tube — the underground
  7. last — to go on
  8. chip — for betting
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. land — ground
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. rest — what's left
  23. land — a country
  24. last — finally

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