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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. suit — in cards
  9. chip — for betting
  10. stock — goods
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bat — the animal
  14. file — a document
  15. race — humankind
  16. suit — clothes
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. suit — to fit
  19. stock — shares
  20. snap — to click
  21. race — a contest
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chip — to eat

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