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

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. track — a song
  4. chip — for betting
  5. capital — money
  6. mine — for digging
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. capital — a city
  13. chip — to eat
  14. face — to point toward
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. face — to confront
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mine — belonging to me

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