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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 112 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. suit — in cards
  3. swing — music
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wound — an injury
  9. swing — to play on
  10. suit — clothes
  11. suit — to fit
  12. row — a line
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cap — a hat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. swing — in golf
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. chip — to eat
  24. net — after costs

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