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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. firm — decided
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. cold — an illness
  9. face — part of the head
  10. charge — electricity
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. firm — steady
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. face — to confront
  16. snap — to click
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. charge — a price
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. charge — in control
  22. bat — the animal
  23. face — to point toward
  24. firm — a company

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