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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. swing — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — a trace
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chip — for betting
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mark — a grade
  24. swing — to play on

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