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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. mark — a trace
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. ball — a great time
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. ground — the earth
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chip — to eat
  18. ground — a position
  19. cold — an illness
  20. content — happy
  21. ball — a dance
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bat — for baseball

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