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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. can — a tin
  5. chip — for betting
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. key — in music
  9. cold — not warm
  10. key — the most important part
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — an illness
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — the animal
  18. net — for catching
  19. key — for a lock
  20. chip — to eat
  21. fall — the season
  22. can — to be able to
  23. net — in sport
  24. can — a tin

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