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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: content · game · hand · kid · cap · chip · wave · nail

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. hand — in cards
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. kid — child
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. content — the amount
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cap — a lid
  11. content — happy
  12. game — a match
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. chip — to eat
  22. hand — help
  23. kid — to tease
  24. chip — for betting

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