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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — to breed
  4. chip — for betting
  5. game — a match
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mate — a friend
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chip — to eat
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. mate — a partner
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. foot — a measure
  21. bass — low music
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — child
  24. game — wild animals

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