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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. hand — help
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chip — to eat
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chip — for betting
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pop — music
  21. roll — a list
  22. game — a match
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. pop — soda

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