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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rash — a series
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bat — the animal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. game — a match
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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