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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — a container
  5. staff — employees
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. tube — the underground
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. hand — in cards
  11. staff — a stick
  12. mate — a friend
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. hand — help
  16. mate — to breed
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. staff — employees
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — in football
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. deal — a big deal

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