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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bat — the animal
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lean — thin
  12. rock — music
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. lean — to bend
  15. chip — to eat
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rock — a stone
  18. squash — to crush
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chip — for betting
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. squash — the vegetable

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