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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chip — for betting
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — help
  12. key — in music
  13. club — for golf
  14. key — the most important part
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. club — for dancing
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. key — for a lock
  19. wound — an injury
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. kid — child
  24. club — a group

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