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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. fine — high quality
  4. kid — child
  5. chip — for betting
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chip — to eat
  9. key — for a lock
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. last — finally
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bat — the animal
  16. key — the most important part
  17. fine — all right
  18. key — in music

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