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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hand — help
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. firm — steady
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. chip — for betting
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — a company
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tube — a container
  24. squash — to crush

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