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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rash — a series
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. land — ground
  7. chip — to eat
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bound — obliged
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bound — certain
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — to come down
  21. bound — tied together
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. land — a country

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