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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kick — in football
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. fall — the season
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. court — of law
  13. chip — for betting
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. rule — a law
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bark — to shout
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kick — with a leg

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