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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — the animal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ground — a position
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chip — for betting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ground — crushed
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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