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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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — certain
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lie — to recline
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mate — a friend
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mate — a partner
  16. chip — to eat
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. bound — obliged
  19. stock — shares
  20. chip — for betting
  21. stock — goods
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — the Cold War

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