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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. land — ground
  3. pop — to visit
  4. chip — for betting
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — to come down
  7. pop — soda
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — in music
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. kid — child
  12. land — a country
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pop — music
  16. can — a tin
  17. key — the most important part
  18. can — to be able to
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wind — moving air
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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