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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mine — for digging
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — help
  5. object — to protest
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. net — for catching
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. object — an aim
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — to confront
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pit — in a race
  17. net — in sport
  18. bat — the animal
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. object — a thing
  23. pit — a hole
  24. face — part of the head

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