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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. swing — in golf
  6. chip — to eat
  7. row — to paddle
  8. object — an aim
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. swing — music
  18. hand — help
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. row — a line
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. chest — a box
  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