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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. chip — for betting
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. key — for a lock
  8. chip — to eat
  9. key — in music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. key — the most important part
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. lean — thin
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — child
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. date — the fruit
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lean — to bend
  24. coach — a trainer

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