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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. game — a match
  5. land — a country
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — ground
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — to come down
  10. deal — to handle
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wind — moving air
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. race — a contest
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. race — humankind
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wind — moving air
  21. chip — for betting
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. chip — in a computer

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