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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: sharp · cell · mouse · swing · chip · stem · kid · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. swing — music
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chip — to eat
  12. swing — in golf
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — ground
  17. chip — for betting
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. land — to come down
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. kid — to tease

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