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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. last — to go on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pit — in a race
  8. object — a thing
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — the animal
  13. last — finally
  14. pit — a hole
  15. last — final
  16. clip — a video
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. march — the month
  19. clip — to cut
  20. tear — from crying
  21. object — to protest
  22. chip — for betting
  23. tear — to rip
  24. object — an aim

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