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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. craft — boats
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spell — magic
  7. chip — for betting
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. game — wild animals
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. spell — letters
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. craft — a skill
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bat — the animal
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. game — a match
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. spell — a short time

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