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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 116 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. snap — to click
  3. face — to confront
  4. mate — to breed
  5. chip — to eat
  6. object — an aim
  7. chip — for betting
  8. face — part of the head
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. face — to point toward
  16. scale — in music
  17. object — a thing
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mate — a friend
  22. object — to protest
  23. mate — a partner
  24. scale — size or range

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