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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. net — in sport
  3. game — wild animals
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. net — after costs
  9. chip — to eat
  10. swing — to play on
  11. chip — for betting
  12. swing — music
  13. face — to point toward
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. net — for catching
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. swing — in golf

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