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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. chip — for betting
  3. face — to confront
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. firm — a company
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. firm — steady
  9. mine — for digging
  10. file — a tool
  11. chip — to eat
  12. scale — in music
  13. present — a gift
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. present — the time now
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. scale — size or range
  19. file — a document
  20. firm — decided
  21. face — part of the head
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. face — to point toward

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