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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. ruler — a monarch
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. court — of law
  6. mate — a friend
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — an illness
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. roll — a list
  11. date — the fruit
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a cake
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chip — for betting
  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