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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. present — the time now
  5. mine — for digging
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bulb — for light
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. present — a gift
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. present — there
  15. march — the month
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. chip — for betting
  23. march — music
  24. bat — for baseball

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