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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. chip — to eat
  3. game — a match
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. charge — electricity
  8. foot — a measure
  9. charge — a price
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chip — for betting
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. tear — to rip
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. game — wild animals
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. charge — in control
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. foot — the bottom

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