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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. net — in sport
  4. mark — a trace
  5. key — the most important part
  6. content — happy
  7. face — to confront
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. net — after costs
  11. mark — a grade
  12. fall — to drop
  13. key — in music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. face — part of the head
  16. chip — for betting
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. net — for catching
  20. content — the amount
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. key — for a lock
  24. face — to point toward

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