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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bound — certain
  4. chip — for betting
  5. ground — a position
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — the month
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. march — the month
  15. bound — obliged
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bound — tied together
  24. wind — moving air

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