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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. prune — to trim
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chip — for betting
  6. bound — certain
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chip — to eat
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bound — obliged
  24. cabinet — ministers

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