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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. fine — all right
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. spell — magic
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. hand — in cards
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pit — in a race
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fine — high quality
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. spell — letters
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. content — the amount
  18. bass — low music
  19. spell — a short time
  20. content — happy
  21. pit — a hole
  22. hand — help
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fine — a penalty

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