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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. net — in sport
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chip — to eat
  10. net — after costs
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. board — to get on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. tube — a container
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. net — for catching
  19. board — a committee
  20. chip — for betting
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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