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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chip — to eat
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. game — a match
  11. clip — a video
  12. wound — an injury
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chip — for betting

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