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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. firm — steady
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. firm — decided
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. wound — an injury
  10. season — of the year
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chip — for betting
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wound — an injury
  21. firm — a company
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. stem — a stem cell

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