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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. ground — a position
  5. snap — to click
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — to eat
  14. hand — help
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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