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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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468
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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chip — to eat
  5. squash — the sport
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rule — a law
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. chip — for betting
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pop — soda
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cell — a phone
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. pop — music
  24. rule — government

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