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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chip — for betting
  3. spring — a coil
  4. content — the amount
  5. spring — of water
  6. dip — to sink
  7. foot — a measure
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chip — to eat
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. land — a country
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. content — happy
  17. land — to come down
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. spring — the season
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mouse — for a computer

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