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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. root — the cause
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. root — of a word
  7. chip — for betting
  8. firm — a company
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. firm — steady
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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