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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cue — for pool
  3. file — a tool
  4. firm — a company
  5. chip — to eat
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. swing — in golf
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cue — a hint
  11. firm — steady
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a line of people
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a document
  16. firm — decided
  17. cold — not warm
  18. swing — music
  19. cue — a signal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — the animal
  22. swing — to play on
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — in a computer

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