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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. kid — child
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bound — tied together
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. face — to point toward
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bound — obliged
  9. present — there
  10. bound — certain
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. present — a gift
  14. hand — help
  15. net — for catching
  16. kid — to tease
  17. face — to confront
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. net — in sport
  21. chip — for betting
  22. net — after costs
  23. present — the time now
  24. racket — for tennis

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