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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chip — to eat
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chip — for betting
  12. club — a group
  13. mark — a grade
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. mark — a trace
  18. straw — a straw man

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