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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wound — an injury
  11. track — a song
  12. chip — to eat
  13. race — humankind
  14. toast — bread
  15. chip — for betting
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. race — a contest
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wound — an injury
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. race — the arms race
  23. track — a path
  24. net — in sport

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