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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a hole
  5. firm — a company
  6. game — wild animals
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. mark — a trace
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chip — for betting
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. game — a match
  18. firm — steady
  19. mark — a grade
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. wake — a trail

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