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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. march — the month
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. march — the month
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bat — the animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chip — to eat
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. chip — for betting
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. net — after costs
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. march — music
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. ground — a position
  22. rule — government
  23. ground — crushed
  24. rule — a law

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