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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 124 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: arm · chip · game · squash · staff · fall · cold · foot

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — for betting
  3. fall — the season
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. squash — to crush
  8. staff — employees
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. fall — to drop
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. squash — the sport
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — not warm
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — wild animals

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