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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. mug — to rob
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. chip — for betting
  4. land — ground
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — to come down
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. kick — in football
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chip — to eat
  12. kid — child
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mug — a face
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mug — a cup
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bass — low music
  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