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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chair — a leader
  5. net — after costs
  6. object — a thing
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. object — an aim
  13. chip — to eat
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. object — to protest
  17. bat — the animal
  18. club — for golf
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. club — a group
  24. chip — for betting

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