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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wind — moving air
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. saw — the tool
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. arm — part of the body

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