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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chip — for betting
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. march — the month
  9. swing — in golf
  10. march — music
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. scale — in music
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mine — for digging
  17. swing — music
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. march — the month

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