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

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. chip — to eat
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — a company
  12. deal — to handle
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. bat — in an idiom

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