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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 124 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. swing — in golf
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spell — a short time
  7. face — to confront
  8. content — happy
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spell — letters
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. face — to point toward
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. content — the amount
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. spell — magic
  19. bat — the animal
  20. swing — to play on
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chip — for betting
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. swing — music

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