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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chip — to eat
  3. present — the time now
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bat — the animal
  6. face — to confront
  7. present — there
  8. can — a tin
  9. face — part of the head
  10. present — a gift
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. tear — from crying
  14. can — to be able to
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. face — to point toward
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. can — a tin
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chip — for betting
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. tear — from crying

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