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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chest — of your body
  4. fine — high quality
  5. squash — to crush
  6. chest — a box
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. swing — music
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. branch — a division
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chip — for betting
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bark — to shout
  19. swing — in golf
  20. squash — the sport
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. chest — of your body

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