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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. squash — the sport
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bat — the animal
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chip — for betting
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. rock — music
  24. rock — a stone

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