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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rock — music
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mine — for digging
  7. content — happy
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chest — of your body
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. chip — to eat
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rock — a stone
  16. content — the amount
  17. chip — for betting
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. game — a match
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. prune — the fruit

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