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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. board — to get on
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. board — a committee
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bat — the animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mine — for digging

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