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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. swing — music
  4. chip — for betting
  5. content — the amount
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. game — wild animals
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wind — moving air
  14. content — happy
  15. sharp — clever
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — a match
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chip — to eat
  24. game — a kind of play

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