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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stand — to bear
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wound — an injury
  10. object — to protest
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. object — an aim
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chip — to eat
  20. object — a thing
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bat — in an idiom

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