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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. capital — a city
  5. chip — for betting
  6. rule — a law
  7. chip — to eat
  8. capital — money
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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