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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chip — for betting
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. net — for catching
  9. kid — child
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. net — after costs
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. track — to keep track
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. snap — to click
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — of your body
  20. track — a song
  21. chest — a box
  22. plane — a tool
  23. net — in sport
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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