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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — for betting
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. tear — to rip
  10. tear — from crying
  11. date — the fruit
  12. row — a line
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. game — a match
  17. tear — from crying
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. toast — bread
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. row — a quarrel

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