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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · mate · kid · saw · game · mouse · chip · tear

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. march — the month
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — to breed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. kid — child
  7. mate — a partner
  8. march — music
  9. kid — to tease
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chip — for betting
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mate — a friend
  16. game — wild animals
  17. march — the month
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. game — a match
  24. mouse — the animal

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