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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pit — a hole
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. fine — high quality
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pit — in a race
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bore — to drill
  20. scale — in music
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. rash — a series
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chip — in a computer

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