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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. chip — to eat
  4. snap — to click
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cell — in biology
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. court — for sport
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pop — soda
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pop — music
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cell — a phone
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. straw — a straw man

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