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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bore — to tire
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. last — final
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. sharp — clever
  15. chip — for betting
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chip — to eat
  20. last — to go on
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bore — to drill
  24. last — finally

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