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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. tube — the underground
  4. charge — in control
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. present — a gift
  8. shower — rain
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. scale — in music
  11. chip — for betting
  12. scale — size or range
  13. hand — in cards
  14. charge — electricity
  15. shower — to wash
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. charge — a price
  18. hand — help
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. tube — a container
  23. present — the time now
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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