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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. chip — to eat
  4. face — part of the head
  5. net — after costs
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. ground — a position
  8. face — to confront
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. net — for catching
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. face — to point toward
  15. chest — a box
  16. race — humankind
  17. net — in sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. race — the arms race
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chip — for betting
  23. ground — the earth
  24. bat — the animal

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